Clean up begins in the wake of Sunday's storms

Producers across southern Saskatchewan are in the fields today assessing their crop following a series of severe storms that tore through the province late Sunday.

Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings as well tornado warnings blanketed much of the province as storm cells dropped a reported 50 mm of rain on some area in addition to Loonie to 5-7 cm diameter hail that battered buildings, cars and crops.

Scott Anderson, who farms in the Briercrest area, spoke with Discover Moose Jaw Monday morning and said his mustard crop "took a heck of a beating" in addition to some of his other crops but he expects his cereal and lentil crop to make a recovery.

A deck cover in hail in the wake of Sunday's storm. Photo credit: Scott Anderson.

Brad Vrolijk, lead forecaster with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said a cluster of thunderstorms developed between Swift Current and Moose Jaw. “Those tracked east, southeast through the night and eventually moved off into North Dakota.” 

He said they knew strong winds and damaging hail would be possible with the cluster southwest of Moose Jaw. “With that storm, we got one tornado report near Gravelbourg, and with that, we also got a report of loonie-sized hail.” 

As the evening progressed, tornados were less of a concern. “We had a couple of reports of funnel clouds after that, but nothing on the ground.” 

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Of all hail reports from the storm, the largest hail was reported in Estevan overnight, at 5 to 7 cm in diameter. “We didn’t get any damage reports from it yet, because it was dark. One person I talked to said they’re going to have to look at their roof this morning, but they don’t feel good about it.” 

“I imagine there’s going to be quite a few damage reports out of Estevan this morning, as people assess what exactly that hailstorm did to the area.” 

Brick and metal debris have fallen from the Soul Hideout building on 5th Street and 12th Avenue in Estevan after hail and thunderstorms hit the southeast (Photo by Lemuel Alquino/DiscoverEstevan)

-- with files from Tracey Moody