Parts Of Calgary Are Underwater After Floods & Giant Hailstones Hit This Weekend (PHOTOS)
It looked like the apocalypse came early to parts of Alberta. Areas of one city have sunken underwater after sudden hailstorms and flash floods hit Calgary, waterlogging cars. Meanwhile, in other parts of the province, funnel clouds formed, lightning struck, and even a tornado touched down.
On Saturday, June 13, parts of north and northeast Calgary drowned in flash floods while enormous hailstones smashed up homes and cars.
The flooding was so bad, emergency crews had to deploy their rescue boat. Social media lit up that evening with photos and videos of flooded streets and damaged homes.
On Deerfoot Trail, the floods swept up around cars, stranding and partially submerging them in water. CTV News and posts on social media showed rescue boats ferrying stranded drivers on the road-turned-river.
Meanwhile, from photos on Twitter, some people from North and Northeast Calgary reported enormous golf-ball-sized hail that slammed down, tearing paint off the sides of houses and breaking windows.
Meteorologist Terri Lang told the CBC the hail likely fell at speeds of 80 to 100 kilometres an hour.
"I've been in Calgary 40 years, this is the first time I've seen a storm like this," said northeast Calgary resident Saad Taleb to the CBC. "I've never experienced this before.
Meanwhile, funnel clouds were seen forming in the skies above parts of Alberta, and tornado warnings were issued around 7:30 MDT, reported the Weather Network. Unconfirmed winds of over 100 kilometres an hour also struck some regions, they continued.
Environment Canada confirmed at least one tornado formed at 7:37 p.m. that day near Dayton, Alberta.
While the storm has since slowed, the streets are still soaked. On Sunday, June 14, Calgary police tweeted that "many roads in northeast Calgary remain blocked by abandoned vehicles or pooling water as a result of last night’s storm."
The City of Calgary also tweeted on Saturday, June 13, that 911 experienced "high volumes" of calls.
As if this year couldn't get any wilder, it seemed something straight out of a generic apocalypse movie slammed Calgary. But the city's already recovering, and it seems it'll take more than hell or high water to take them down.