Hail the size of golf balls causes extensive damage in Lumsden area
'It's just awful,' says resident and business owner Katrina Hansen of the damage
Parts of southern Saskatchewan were hammered by thunderstorms Thursday afternoon with some areas pelted with golf ball-sized hail.
Katrina Hansen was outside with her two-year-old daughter and mother-in-law in the Lumsden, Sask., area just before the storm hit.
"It got really dark and the thunder started to boom so we decided we'll just go inside and it started raining," Hansen said.
"And probably within about 30 seconds after it started raining, the hail started coming. I saw the first big one hit the ground and it looks like about the size of a golf ball, and my stomach just dropped."
Hansen said the hail continued for about 10 minutes.
"It was like Timbit- to golf ball-size hail just pelting everything," she said.
Late Thursday afternoon Environment Canada issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the area that were producing very strong wind gusts, toonie to ping pong ball-sized hail and heavy rain.
When Hansen, who runs a micro-flower farm called Yarrow and Rye, looked outside she was devastated.
"I have a huge garden in my backyard and it has just been completely shredded," she said.
She went for a walk around town and said there is damage everywhere.
"There's fallen branches and debris everywhere. Everybody's cars are dinged. It's just awful," she said.
Hansen is going to do a more extensive assessment of her garden to assess the damage and salvage what she can. She is hopeful it's early enough in the season that everything will grow back.
Katrina Bostock has lived in Lumsden her whole life.
Bostock moved to her home on Prospect Crescent in July 2019. She said they have had severe thunderstorms in the past, "but nothing like that."
"We heard it coming down and I just thought to myself, there's not going to be anything left," Bostock said.
Her beautiful garden has been torn apart by "golf ball" sized hail and her Jeep has marks all over the hood.
Bostock said she hasn't assessed what's left yet because she is still too upset.
"It feels like we took the brunt end of it up here."
Gerard Gelowitz has lived at his home in Lumsden since 2004 and echoed Bostock's comments about the strength of the storm.
He said he heard "banging and crashing" and a saw a sheet of white out his window.
"I have a reactive dog and she was petrified."
Gelowitz opened his back door to find his deck covered hail as large as "golf balls."
He didn't get much damage from the hail, but many of his neighbours did, including a nearby church that had windows smashed out.
He spent Friday morning cleaning up his yard.
"I still have lots to sweep off," he said.
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With files from Aliyah Marko-Omene