Music History

It Was 30 Years Ago Today That a Tornado Ripped Through Edmonton. There’s a Song About It.

It was a Friday afternoon in 1987 when the skies over Edmonton turned ominously dark. Thunderstorms were moving through and a tornado warning had been issued. By the end of the afternoon, an F-4 twister with winds reaching 420 kph had cut a kilometre-wide swath through the eastern part of the city that extended over 30 kilometres.

Twenty-seven people were killed and more than 300 were hurt. Property damage was somewhere north of $330 million. No wonder Edmontonians call this Black Friday.

Reader Jacob notes that the Rural Alberta Advantage has a song about the event.

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39684 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.