© Grant Black, Calgary HeraldA slab of shingles rests on the lawn of a home on Val Gardenia Place S.W. on Wednesday evening after a fierce summer storm damaged several homes on the Calgary cul-de-sac.
Environment Canada could not confirm whether a tornado had actually touched down, but dark swirling clouds and high winds that ripped through roofs and eavestroughs on the 300 block of St. Moritz Drive S.W. forced residents to take shelter.
Fire spokesman Brian McAsey said calls started pouring in shortly before 8 p.m. about funnel cloud sightings and homes being damaged, including a call about part of a roof torn off a home.
Another house was believed to be hit by lightning, he said, adding there were also reports of flooding and manhole covers being blown off -but no reports of injuries.
Area resident Long Ren was home with his wife and daughter when he saw the trees moving around "crazily" in his backyard.
"Suddenly I saw a lot of stuff blowing into the sky and realized it could be a tornado," he said.
His family rushed to the basement, where they remained until it appeared the storm had passed. When they emerged several minutes later, he saw shed pieces, siding and trees scattered around his backyard, Ren said. His own shed was "totally demolished," he added.
The nine other homes on the same street also sustained some damage, he said, adding police cars, emergency vehicles and fire trucks quickly arrived at the scene.
Debris also littered the front and back yards of homes in the neighbouring Aspen Woods community, said resident Richard Daley.
"There's a trampoline from the back of one house that got blown into the front yard of our neighbour's house," said Daley, who was walking home when he noticed the community in disarray. "My backyard is an utter mess and there are shingles all over the place."
Environment Canada meteorologist Ron Mark said there was no confirmation a tornado had touched down, but it's very likely there were funnel clouds in the west and southwest parts of the city.
"The damage that was reported could have been from the winds," he said, though he added tornadoes are always a possibility with thunderstorms.
Calgary was under a brief severe thunderstorm watch, with up to 20 mm of rain and winds gusting up to 60 km/h in some areas.
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