Southeast Sask. begins cleanup after intense hailstorm

Between the rain, hail and high winds — southeast Saskatchewan is a mess.

Areas around Estevan and Carlyle were hit with a violent storm starting around 4 p.m. Thursday.

Hailstones the size of tennis balls came down in sheets, and witnesses described the aftermath as looking like snow.

Earlier in the day, Environment Canada had tornado watches and warnings out for the southeast corner.

While winds reached 150 km/h in the region, no tornadoes were reported in the province. The weather agency did get a report of one in Manitoba.

The storm also didn’t bring much rain, with the Estevan airport only reporting six millimetres or around half an inch. However, some parts of the city saw flash flooding on streets and intersections.

Cleanup started early Friday, with residents using rakes, pressure washers and chainsaws to manage debris.

Just outside Estevan, vehicles were left with cracked windshields and shattered back windows. Large dents could be seen on car roofs. South of the city in Woodlawn Regional Park – Boundary Dam, some large trees were snapped and bent at 90-degree angles. Others were blown over onto RVs.

Ryan Onrait was busy raking twigs and leaves around his RV, loading debris into the trailer latched on to his truck.

He was at work when the storm hit. Once he came back to his RV, a tree was leaning against it.

“The only thing that saved it is, [the tree] was still held down by bark so I think it fell slower. It was just kind of resting on top,” said Onrait, adding there were no holes in his unit.

A few lots over, Doug Seymour recalled how he was inside his camper when the hail from the night before hit, describing it as a whiteout.

“I was sitting inside, I was going to leave and then just went in to grab my phone…opened up the door and couldn’t see a thing,” he said.

A large communications tower was also damaged, with a section swaying in the wind.

Another storm, in central Saskatchewan, caused flash flooding in Warman. As of Friday morning, the city had not received any reports of storm damage.