Alberta's "Baseball" Sized Hail Smashed Through Houses & Destroyed Cars (VIDEO)
Albertans are on full clean-up duty on Monday, June 15. The rain and hailstorm that took place on late Saturday evening really did a number of a lot of locals' property. "Baseball" sized hail was reported as part of this Alberta storm.
According to the Calgary Herald, the northeastern part of the city bore the brunt of the storm. This area received piles and piles of hail, the size ranging "from a golf ball to a baseball," they described.
A Ward 5 councillor from that area, George Chahal, told the Herald that the storm was a "disaster." He also said that hail smashed through every car in the neighbourhood and that there is extensive flooding in all the streets and the intersections there.
No injuries due to the storm have been recorded as of Sunday evening.
Gul E Lala Rahim, a resident of Saddleridge, told the Herald that she spotted "golf ball-sized hail coming on the ground and hitting everything."
In the wake of the storm, windows were destroyed, the water flooded indoors, and Rahim said that her side wall was completely wrecked by the storm.
Hail as big as 54 millimetres pelted the city on Saturday evening. The amount of rain was estimated at 59 millimetres.
Ahead of the storm on Saturday, the City of Calgary alerted locals to be prepared. "Environment Canada reports severe hail in YYC over the next few hours. Please move your vehicles indoors, if possible. Be safe," they wrote on Twitter.
On Sunday, the City of Calgary told locals to call 311 if they saw damage to public property. On top of that, they advise that if anyone spotted an unsafe situation, they should also call 311.
Social media is also getting flooded by photos and videos of the damage caused by the storm.
"Whoa! Look what this afternoons hail did to a rockaholic named Mia’s property in Saddleridge NE Calgary!," wrote one user.
Some drivers faced such a hurdle in navigating through the submerged streets that rafts had to be sent out to rescue them.
The Weather Network reported that WestJet, which is based in Calgary, has been preparing for these dramatic hailstorms by fitting puck boards in their aircraft. These boards are normally used to protect hockey rinks.
The tunnel on Airport Trail was still steeped in water as of Sunday, June 14, and vehicles in the tunnel were abandoned, reported the Weather Network.
Another Twitter user wrote, "Residents are coming out of their houses in northeast #calgary after a very tough evening after severe hail ripped through #yyc#yycstorm."
This isn't a purely 2020 phenomenon from the looks of it. Around June 2019, "quarter-sized" hail hurled down on the city and residents were alarmed by the flash floods that took place as well.