Tennis ball-sized hail pelts part of southwest Sask

A severe thunderstorm ripped across parts of the Southwest last Wednesday, hitting areas such as Consul, Fox Valley and Climax.

Hail nearly the size of baseballs was reported in the Consul area, where crops were pounded and some places received over two inches of rain. The storm started around 7:30 p.m. and lasted about half an hour.

Jean and Rick Jones, who live about three miles north of Govenlock, watched the storm rage a couple miles north of their house.

“We could stand on the deck and it was just like a continuous roll of thunder, you could hear it just roaring,” Jean explained, noting the wind hadn’t really picked up.

When they checked their fields there were hail stones almost two inches in diameter.

Howard and Maureen Stirling, who live half a mile north of Senate, had a good portion of their crops flattened by hail ranging from quarter to loonie size.

“It flattened the crops pretty well, not all of it, but most of it. Most of it’s broke right off,” said Howard. “Right through my yard here it looked like it snowed.”

The wind picked up suddenly there, gusting up to 50 miles an hour, he added.

Closer to Consul, there were reports of large hail stones smashing through vehicle windows.

Word spread of funnel clouds spotted with the storm system, but the reports have not been confirmed.

The storm moved east into the Frontier and Climax area, where tennis ball-sized hail was reported. The storm started at about 8 p.m. and lasted for around 20 minutes, with strong winds and over two-and-a-half inches of rain.

Samantha Glenn, whose family farms south of Climax, said some crops were completely destroyed.

“It was mostly crops (hit), but there was a few trucks that got damaged and roofs and shops that have damage to them,” she said.

She noted the storm stretched as far south as the Montana border.

The storm hit Fox Valley as well, with crops northwest of town flattened. As a thunderstorm rolled in later that night, some areas around Fox Valley received up to two inches of rain.

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