Parts of Whitemud Dr. flooded and shut down due to powerful afternoon storm

Parts of Whitemud flood during storm Sections of Whitemud Drive flooded Wednesday during the afternoon’s heavy rainstorm.

Emergency crews were busy Wednesday afternoon, after a storm hit Edmonton, causing localized flooding, and a construction worker was reportedly struck by lightning while on a worksite.

The massive storm developed over the city early Wednesday afternoon – it was also the subject of a severe thunderstorm warning.

Within hours, reports began surfacing on social media on power outages, and localized flooding on roadways and sidewalks throughout the city, many of them in the city’s core.

Flooding was also reported on parts of Whitemud Drive, on 109 Street at Jasper Avenue – and even at the Meadows Rec Centre on the city’s south side.

Whitemud Drive between 99 Street and 53 Avenue was closed, and the City of Edmonton was advising drivers to avoid Whitemud Drive at 106 Street – as the underpass was flooding.

The city said the Meadows Rec Centre had to be closed due to flooding and electrical damage caused by the storm. The facility was expected to reopen Thursday at about 5:30 a.m.

Officials said at about 4 p.m. that crews were responding to more than 130 calls to deal with issues ranging from flooded roads to manhole covers.

Later on, City officials said crews had managed to restore more than half of the traffic signals knocked out by the storm.

A number of members of the CTV Edmonton team were out in the field when the heavy rains hit.

Flooding was also reported on 104 Avenue downtown.

CTV Edmonton Meteorologist Josh Classen said the storm appeared to be hovering over the city's core.

Worker struck by lightning

Meanwhile, in southeast Edmonton, emergency crews were called to a worksite at about 1:45 p.m., after it was reported that a tree had been hit by lightning, with a man underneath.

Crews arrived on site, in the area of 94 Street and 92 Avenue, and paramedics transported an injured man to hospital.

CTV News spoke to the individual’s coworkers, who said the man was standing under a tree holding a metal level when the tree was hit.

The witnesses described the man’s injuries as a burn on his arm, between his wrist and elbow.

Crews working to restore power

EPCOR crews were also busy dealing with power outages related to the storm.

According to EPCOR's website, as of about 3:12 p.m. Wednesday, crews were dealing with two outages, one that started just before 1 p.m. in the area of 132 Street to 156 Street, and 23 Avenue to 45 Avenue - reportedly due to damaged equipment. The second was reported at about 1:03 p.m., between 1 Street to 91 Street and 41 Avenue South to 76 Avenue, but the case in that case is unknown.

UPDATE: Classen compiled some rainfall totals from Wednesday's storm late in the afternoon.

Later on, Classen said parts of southeast Edmonton saw more than 60 milimetres of rain.