When Matt Berry left Innisfail, Alta., Monday night to drive north to Red Deer, the weather was “perfect,” he recalled.
But about 10 minutes later, just after 6 p.m., it was a completely different story. A storm swept through the area, hurling huge chunks of hail onto dozens of cars stopped along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway.
Berry was just north of Innisfail, near Antler Hill, when it hit.
“The next thing I know, my windshield cracked on top of me, cracked and shattered,” he said in an interview with the Calgary Eyeopener.
“My windshield is completely destroyed … I was just scared of this thing coming on top of me.”
He managed to pull over to the side of the road and waited for the storm to pass. In all, it lasted about 10 to 15 minutes, he said, but it left its mark.
According to RCMP, 34 vehicles were damaged Monday – down from an earlier estimate of 70 – while many people suffered minor injuries and three collisions were caused by the storm.
Matt Berry, one of several people caught in Monday’s hail, said many good Samaritans stopped outside damaged cars to see if anyone needed a ride. (Matt Berry)
Stuart Brideau, public education officer for Alberta Health Services, says local fire and emergency services also arrived at the scene around 6:30 p.m. Although some people were affected indirectly by hail coming through windows and broken glass, he said no one needed transport to the hospital.
That’s good news considering the size of the falling hail.
“We were all a bit shocked, to be honest … I’m sure we’re probably going to set a new record for mass,” said Julian Brimelow, executive director of Western University’s Northern Hail Project, a five-year study based in Alberta.
“We’ve had reports of grapefruit-sized hail, softball-sized hail…Typically on an exceptional day, we might have tennis ball-sized hail, so six to seven centimeters. But [Monday]we had many stones that were over 10 centimeters in diameter.”
Summary of yesterday’s mission in
• Collected 7 bags of baseballs up to grapefruit size hail
• 4 probes deployed before hailcores (2 with video) and all successfully hit
• Measured and bagged 106mm hail pic.twitter.com/j2Fxs2uUHQ
—@NHP_field
The team took their samples to a lab in Red Deer to confirm if the hail set a provincial or even national record.
“From what we can tell, the rocks were on the ground about 20 minutes before our team was able to get there. So there has been some melting,” he said. “I think it will be close.”
He’s not sure why the hail in this storm was so much larger than usual, but expects it may have something to do with Monday’s abundant moisture near the ground, which is not typical for Alberta.
Storm chaser Matt Melnick says he likes to take pictures of big storms and compare them to others because “you never see the same storm twice.” (Matt Melnick)
This element, along with the usual storm ingredients, may have come together to provide more fuel for the creation of the hailstones.
Matt Melnick, a storm chaser in Alberta, also wonders what led to the size of the hail. He went to Innisfail on Monday to assess and take pictures of the storm.
“This particular storm had a very, very large rotating updraft that kept the hail inside the storm for a long period of time,” he said in an interview with CBC Calgary News at 6.
“It was extremely intense.”
WATCH | Storm chaser Matt Melnick describes what it was like tracking Monday’s hail near Innisfail:
What Monday’s hail near Innisfail looked like from a storm chaser’s perspective
Storm chaser Matt Melnyk spoke with CBC Calgary News at 6 host Andrew Brown about Monday’s hailstorm near Innisfail, Alta., and why he enjoys chasing powerful storms.
Brimelow says one of the reasons his team is so motivated to better understand these storms is because they know how they can affect people’s lives.
“Our hearts really go out to these people because we understand how devastating it can be.”
The cleanup continued Tuesday
Jeff Tagg saw this devastation with his own eyes.
He is the owner of Tagg’s Extreme Towing Ltd. in Red Deer. His crew was called to help north of Innisfail on Monday night and he believes dozens more cars were damaged by the storm.
“Hell was starting … There were approximately 100, maybe a little more than that, up there with all kinds of damage,” he said.
“The windshields were just broken. Several of them looked as if someone had hit their body from the front.”
A number of towing companies have stepped up to help move cars off the road, Tagg said. They were on the scene until about 3 a.m., and at least one company continued to work until Tuesday to remove the cars from the area.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says estimates of insured losses may not be available for several weeks.
Melnick says Alberta’s worst storms tend to occur in the last two weeks of July and the first week of August. (Matt Melnick)
But if your vehicle is hit by hail, there are a few steps you should take.
First, take photos of the damage from all angles, according to Rob de Pruis, national director of consumer and industry relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Then contact your insurance agent and provide as many details as possible.
“The sooner you can file the claim, the better, but you have a two-year window to finalize everything related to your claim,” he said in an interview with CBC Edmonton News at 6.
You may want to purchase optional comprehensive coverage, de Pruis said, which covers hail, wind and water damage to your vehicle.
Monday’s hail left many cars damaged, but no one at the scene was seriously injured, AHS says. (Matt Berry)
If you pay any additional expenses, be sure to keep these receipts.
“If you are unable to drive your vehicle if you have it towed to the nearest garage, keep the receipt for that towing as this may also be covered by your insurance policy.”
Berry was one of several drivers whose vehicle was towed to a nearby lot. He got a ride home from his mother, who lives nearby.
After the whole ordeal, he says he would advise anyone heading out to take weather warnings seriously and stay home if possible.
“I never would have guessed it could happen so quickly,” he said.
“It was crazy.”
Add Comment