Sherwood Park, Alberta, is cleaning up after a powerful thunderstorm on July 26, 2026, dropped about 30 mm of rain in a single hour and brought wind gusts up to 94 km/h, flooding basements and forcing the closure of a local golf course.
The storm hit between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., downing trees and overwhelming drainage systems across the community. The Broadmoor Public Golf Course shut its doors on July 27 and remains closed at least through July 28 while staff assess water accumulation.
Residents reported water backing into basements despite some having taken steps to protect their homes. The downpour is part of a larger pattern. Edmonton has now recorded 503.7 mm of rain this summer, making it the wettest on record and surpassing a mark set in 1953, according to Environment Canada.
Infrastructure damage from earlier storms this summer has also been severe. Township Road 534 along Oldman Creek near Sherwood Park was completely washed out in June and will be closed for at least three months, said Kevin Cole, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Infrastructure Planning Services for Strathcona County. He described the rainfall and flooding this summer as “unprecedented,” and noted it will take months to rebuild the road.
Strathcona County has applied for provincial disaster funding to repair washed-out roads and damaged bridges. But some residents are calling for longer-term fixes to drainage systems after repeated flooding events this summer.
Ward 7 Councillor Glen Lawrence acknowledged the challenge, saying building infrastructure to fully handle storms of this size would cost “hundreds of millions of dollars.” For now, cleanup continues as residents look for solutions to keep water out of their homes.
