Dark skies in the province seem to be bringing with them more funnel clouds so far this year.

Tornado season in Alberta runs from June to august but can start as early as may. this year the first confirmed tornado in Alberta occurred near Peers on April 24 and was a land spout.

Robin Dyck, Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says we're experiencing a higher amount of tornados than usual this year.

"Usually about 12, give or take, that's in the last 30 years averaged from 1986 to 2015. Last year, we actually only saw about four and that was based on a lot of the smoke that was covering the province, it suppresses that tornado activity."

Dyck explains this higher number could be due to more moisture.

"We had quite a bit of rain early season, so in June. That contributes to low level atmospheric moisture which could help to increase the tornadic potential for the rest of the season. That does go into better crop growth and that sort of thing, leading to more evapotranspiration which can help to bring some moisture for thunderstorm development."

Evapotranspiration is the name for the processes of evaporation and transpiration. It is said to be responsible for 15 per cent of the atmosphere's water vapour.

According to Dyck, the areas from Grande Prairie to Edmonton, southeast of Edmonton into Saskatchewan, and areas north of Calgary typically see a higher amount of tornados.

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