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Storm rips through Central Alberta, crops affected by hail

Hail pelts region causing damage to farmland, plus communities in Ponoka, Bashaw and Stettler
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Central Alberta was hit with heavy winds, thunderstorms, and eventually hail that caused damage to some area homes Friday evening.

In Ponoka, a swath of hail was large enough that residents reported golf-ball sized hail that caused damage to car windshields, siding on homes, and gardens.

Ponoka Mayor Rick Bonnett said the town was spared the worst but the damage was significant on some area farms. He was told that one rural resident lost both her front and back windshields on her vehicle.

“It was a pretty intense storm in places,” he said.

Crops were also affected by the hail, with whole fields of canola and barley flattened.

“Some of the crops are basically a 100 per cent write-off,” said Bonnett.

The storm seemed to jump around, he said. “It started on the northwest side of town, stayed to the north and then headed southeast.”

Lacombe resident Crystal Schultz said the storm came through her city around 6:30 p.m. She said she was lucky to have pulled into her driveway right when it had started hailing.

“It was coming down really quick and pretty hard,” she said adding it didn’t last long.

She and her son Kingston, eight, watched the summer storm that lasted about 15 to 20 minutes from inside their house. She said she saw pea-sized hail piled up against her back door and in her backyard.

“It looked like it was snowing,” she said.

There was no damage to her home.

“It wasn’t big enough (in her area) to cause any damage,” said the 34-year-old.

Reports from Ponoka News readers stated there was heavy hail along the Menaik Road area but folks in Maskwacis and Ponoka County reported that around the Town of Ponoka were the areas hit.

Chevi Rabbit posted this video of hail pelting down on their property.

For Bashaw, some area homes received damage to their vehicle windshields, siding and home windows, especially the ones facing west.

Later, the large storm cell rolled through Stettler Friday evening bringing with it thunder, lightning, heavy rain and large hail.

There are no reports yet on how much damage the hail caused, however, on social media, users were posting photos of the damage.

Environment Canada issued a tornado watch shortly after 2 p.m. Friday for Stettler, Ponoka, Red Deer and Innisfail area, which was eventually ended later in the evening.



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Readers sent in these images of the effects of the storm Friday night. While the storm brought some beautiful scenes, it also brought hail, which damaged area homes and vehicles. For others, it was an opportunity to show just how much hail there was. Photos submitted
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Hail pelted the Stettler area shortly after 7 p.m. July 13. (Lisa Joy/Black Press News Services)