People in southwestern Manitoba are cleaning up again after a violent storm blew the area Thursday night, the second in less than a week.
In Binscarth, large pieces of hail, some the size of baseballs, according to Environment Canada, shattered windows and also damaged buildings and cars Thursday night.
“It was bouncing off the grass like a practice field and hitting the ground, and that was for about a good five minutes,” said Darcy Kowalchuk, a city teacher who is near the Saskatchewan border.
“He blew big holes in our siding on the north side of our house and pulled out a window, skylights and a caravan.”
Hours after the hailstorm passed, Kowalchuk said another storm passed that poured rain.
– @DarcyKowalchuk
Thursday’s storm in southwest Manitoba also caused Environment Canada to issue a tornado warning shortly before 9:30 p.m.
The Russell-Binscarth area was affected by a supercell storm, meteorologist Kyle Fougère said.
– @DarcyKowalchuk
“A supercell storm is different from a normal one because it has a rotating upward current,” he said Friday. “When the uplink rotates, then it has an additional elevation and can withstand very large hail.”
The agency is investigating a possible sighting of tornadoes in the area, but it has not yet been confirmed.
The area also saw winds of more than 90 km / h, while Pilot Mound had winds of 104 km / h, Fougère said.
Other areas that experienced significant hail include Oakburn, Sandy Lake, Rossburn and Shoal Lake.
Thursday’s storm came after Binscarth was hit by a major storm last Sunday that caused extreme winds, tearing up parts of buildings and tearing down power lines.