There may be dozens of people killed as a result of the weather.
Well, technically, the ATL death-toll was in the dozens, since 27 is more than two dozen.
But if it hits downtown, and there are people in vulnerable structures, you could be looking at a death toll in the hundreds. Mind you, I don't know how skyscrapers usually fare against tornadoes(and one thing to keep in mind is that Edmonton skyscrapers in those days were among the shortest in N. America, owing to the downtown airport).
And of course, downtown is also adjacent to Boyle-McCauley, a low-income area with a lot of dilapidated housing, and Riverdale, a more gentrified version of the same farther down in the valley.
If the tornado managed to wreak havoc all over central Edmonton and the valley, but left the Muttart Conservatory, with its ancient Egyptian motifs, standing, I can see that becoming some sort of iconic "We Shall Survive" image.
Culturally, if the death toll is in the hundreds and some infamous photographs emerge from the tragedy, you could see Black Friday becoming a bit of a theme in Canadian arts and literature, maybe a couple of movies, plays, or novels about it, in the first decade or so after it happens.
(Credentials: In 1987 I was living about a five-minute bike ride from Refinery Row, and working at a nearby restaurant. I spent that evening and the next day helping to dispose of the food that had gone bad when the power went out.)
