ONE HAIL OF A STORM

Moose Jaw residents help shovel hail from a street after a school bus got stuck in the wake of a wild storm that hammered parts of that city early Wednesday morning.

A severe thunderstorm rolling through southern Saskatchewan gave Moose Jaw residents a rude awakening as hail, strong winds and rain blasted the community early Wednesday morning.

Photos of the storm’s aftermath show Moose Jaw covered with what looks like snow all over lawns, streets and sidewalks.

Jana Smith, who has lived there for 40 years, described the storm as a “total downpour.”

“You couldn’t see across the street, couldn’t see out the backyard. The pool cover was flying all over the place, the kids up — chaos,” Smith said, noting the storm hit around 3 a.m. Other than moving her children’s beds away from windows, she wasn’t afraid for her safety.

Hours later, the temperature outside was nice and warm, Smith said.

Parts of the city were hit hard. Environment Canada reported the amount of hail that fell would be equivalent to 22 millimetres of rain.

“I took the kids to school down one road and it didn’t look like there was any hail and then you turn one corner and I have to put my truck in four-by-four,” she said.

“It was totally sporadic … on the same street, you would have three to five inches of hail, snow, whatever, and then three houses down, absolutely nothing.”

Tuesday ’s storm wasn’t the worst she’s seen, Smith said. Her family just finished up an insurance claim associated with a July 2016 storm that caused immense damage to parts of Moose Jaw. Smith said damage from Tuesday ’s downpour appeared to be limited.

John Paul Cragg, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the severe thunderstorm was travelling east when it hit, developing in its approach and coming to its peak over the city.

“The strongest part of the thunderstorm rolled pretty much right over Moose Jaw,” he said. “Moose Jaw was really the bull’s-eye target of that heavy hail.”

Cragg noted Saskatchewan is a hotbed for severe weather. Environment Canada has already confirmed three tornadoes this year.

SEAN SCHOFER/TWITTER

JANA SMITH Moose Jaw was hit with a downpour early Wednesday that resulted in parts of the city being covered with several inches of hail. Environment Canada had issued a severe thunderstorm watch for southern Saskatchewan on Tuesday, which indicated the storm...