They were later described as “hurricane force,” and Bonnyville farmer Taylor Snyder experienced the winds’ full fury.
“The bins were tied with cables to anchors in the ground,” said Snyder, who was helping a neighbour unload canola on Jan. 15.
“The bins started rocking back and forth till they finally broke the cables and fell over.”
The winds, gusting to 130 kilometres an hour, pushed one bin over 150 feet until it was finally stopped by a grain bag.
“Even the full bins were rocking back and forth,” said Snyder. “We had to put tractors on them to keep them standing.”
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Winds are classed according to the 200-year-old Beaufort Wind Scale, developed by Sir Francis Beaufort of the British Royal Navy. A wind above 40 knots (74 km/h) is rated as a strong gale, while hurricane force winds are 64 to 71 knots (118 to 133 km/h).
The winds on Jan. 15 set records across the province, knocked down power lines, and even blew semi-trucks off the highway. One motorist died after wind blew his vehicle off Highway 44 north of Westlock. He was walking out of the ditch when he was hit by a second vehicle that was also blown off the road.
— Jennifer Blair reports for Alberta Farmer from Red Deer.
