Black Friday: The 1987 Edmonton Tornado

Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History

Curiouscast

Documentary, True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.7 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode 402: On July 31, 1987, an ordinary summer afternoon in Edmonton, Alberta, ended in catastrophe. A powerful tornado cut through the city’s southeast, killing 27 people and leaving entire neighbourhoods destroyed in minutes. In this episode, we examine the second-deadliest tornado in Canadian history through firsthand survivor accounts and direct statements from officials who faced a disaster few believed could happen in a major Canadian city. The day would later become known as “Black Friday,” a name repeated in municipal histories and anniversary coverage. On July 31 itself, it was still just another Friday afternoon. Episode Sources: Tornado, a report : Edmonton and Strathcona County, July 31st, 1987 : Alberta Public Safety ServicesEdmonton Tornado (1987) | The Candian EncyclopediaBELLWEATHER KENNELS CANADA - EDMONTON TORNADO 1987 by Tom TaylorEdmonton Tornado | WikipediaThe Edmonton Tornado | Environment CanadaBlack Friday changed city, survivors | CBC NewsThis Was the Worst Tornado in Canada’s History | Reader’s DigestJul 30, 1988, page 92 - Edmonton Journal at Newspapers.com™From the Edmonton community on RedditEdmonton Journal front page story of the Edmonton tornado July 31, 1987 (Black Friday)Regina Cyclone | Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:00.0	Brought to you by twining sleep. Twinings. Alive in every drop. Oh, look at that. I see my friend Matthew there. Welcome back to Dark Poutine. I'm Mike Brown.
1:25.5	Hello, Michael Brown. This is Matthew Stockton.
1:28.3	Hi, Matthew Stockton.
1:30.2	You look like you have happy eyes this morning, I must say.
1:34.3	Oh, do I?
1:35.0	You do.
1:35.6	You seem like you've been in a good place lately.
1:38.8	Yeah, just going with the flow.
1:41.1	Going with the flow.
1:42.3	It's funny how things work a lot better when you do that. I'm truly going with the flow. Going with the flow. It's funny how things work a lot better when you do that.
1:46.0	I'm truly going with the flow and everything's great and people are wonderful, even when they're weird and angry.
1:53.5	They're fascinating, right?
1:55.7	Yeah.
	...

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