Environment and Climate Change Canada believes at least five tornadoes hit southern Alberta Wednesday

LETHBRIDGE -

Around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a series of tornadoes began appearing near the hamlet of Iron Springs, Alta., about 30 kilometres north of Lethbridge.

From there, the cluster spread nearly to Oyen, Alta., 300 kilometres away.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is still investigating, but believes there were at least five tornadoes.

"We cannot confirm exactly how many, the strength of them, so their rating, or what type of tornado they are at this time. The investigation is ongoing," said ECCC meteorologist Sara Hoffman.

Storm chasers from all over the region were out in force, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cluster.

Some storm chasers, including Darren Howard, claim to have seen up to eight tornadoes.

"I've never seen eight tornadoes in a day. I was thinking back and I think the most tornadoes I've seen in a single day is two back in 2016. We observed two tornadoes out by Longview," he said.

Even non-storm chasers were getting in on the filming.

Chris Bowman and his wife Ronda were driving from High River, Alta., to their home in Medicine Hat when they began to encounter tornadoes.

The couple said they came across five on their drive and were able to film four.

"This was the first up front, not on TV, not on a movie, first time really feeling the motions, the sounds. Couple times, we rolled the window down, they didn't stay down very long just because of the wind,” Bowman said.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is still investigating, but believes there were at least five tornadoes.

Tornado watches and warnings were declared in many parts of southern Alberta, with wind speeds whipping up to as high as 87 kilometres per hour.

Officials remind everyone to stay cautious when warnings are declared and seek shelter immediately.

"When a tornado is occurring or a tornado warning is in effect, your car is not a safe place to be. It's really important to try to get to a well-constructed building and preferably in the basement, away from windows," Hoffman said.

There were no reports of any major damage.

Farmers say there was typical crop and field damage from hail and flying objects.