Daily BrewGolf ball-sized hail pummels Calgary during fierce storm
The Perseid Meteor shower was lighting up the sky last night, however residents in northern Calgary had a different kind of 'meteor' to worry about as a severe thunderstorm rolled through the area, dropping thousands of hailstones, some measuring up to 5 centimetres wide.
Environment Canada had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area as of 10:16pm MDT, and most of southern Alberta was under either a watch or a warning last night.
Residents were advised to be on the lookout for adverse weather conditions, and they certainly did that, judging from the number of pictures that have gone up on the Internet since, showing huge hailstones, dented cars and roofs, and smashed windshields.
Environment Canada reported that the storm cell developed near Sundre, about 80 kilometers northwest of Calgary, and strengthened as it swept down into Calgary's northern suburbs.
Flights into and out of Calgary International Airport were delayed as the storm covered the runways with 2 centimetre wide hailstones.
Golf balls-sized hailstones usually come out of what's called a "supercell" thunderstorm, and require some pretty extreme conditions to form: over 10 billion water droplets each, with 90 km/h winds inside the storm cloud.
[ Related: Company processing hundreds of hail insurance claims ]
Today looks like a nice day for the area, weather-wise, with more rain expected tomorrow. Fortunately, though, it should be much calmer, giving the residents of Calgary a bit of a breather after last night.
