A storm that tore southwestern Manitoba and Interlake on Sunday left a road of destruction that tore parts of buildings and left thousands without electricity.
Stuart Duncan, public affairs manager for Southwest Prairie View, was at his home in St. Lazarus when the storm broke out shortly after Environment Canada issued a serious thunderstorm warning.
“When you saw him coming, it was almost like seeing a wall coming straight at you,” he said.
“He felled half a dozen trees – I’d say he tried to take the roof off the house. He pushed the spotlights down and tried to get in, but the roof held up.”
A storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to southwestern Manitoba and Interlake on Sunday. (Submitted by Chris Graham)
The roofs of other buildings have indeed been torn off, and some grain buckets have been torn down. Duncan is now beginning to assess the damage.
Environment Canada also released a tornado clock for much of southwestern Manitoba on Sunday, although no tornadoes were reported.
Chris Graham, a Regina-based photographer, tracked the storm as he drove through Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The most notable feature of the storm is the wind, he said.
“We noticed that the trees were felled everywhere,” he said. He saw several bent road signs, “and some were completely torn down in the ditch.”
About six kilometers northwest of Foxwaren, near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border, Graham found part of a grain basket that landed in the middle of the field.
Graham’s parents live on the Steep Rock, on the shores of Lake Manitoba. A friend of theirs, who lives on the other side of the lake, has recorded a wind speed of more than 130 kilometers per hour, Graham said.
The storm broke the hydro poles and felled trees, cutting off power to thousands of customers. (Submitted by Chris Graham)
There have been several power outages in a wide area, affecting 4,215 customers in Foxwarren, Binscarth, Waywayseecappo, Rossburn, St-Lazare, Roblin, Greenway and Angusville, Manitoba spokesman Hydro Bruce Owen said in an email.
Nearly 500 were still without electricity on Monday morning.
Some people in the area said they received 55 millimeters of rain in half an hour.
Rainy wind and hail the size of a pea from n Binscarth pic.twitter.com/P28lz43nUZ
– @ DarcyKowalchuk
Three separate power lines have broken ladders, and a total of 11 ladders need to be replaced, Owen said. There are also several lines down caused by fallen trees.
Hydro did not have a firm forecast for the time it expects power to be restored, as it was still assessing the damage.
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