Waskesiu gets thumped by storm

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paNOW Staff

A thunderstorm watch remains in place for Prince Albert National Park, even after a storm ripped through the area.

The storm that moved through Northern Saskatchewan over the past couple of hours hammered the communities of Big River and Waskesiu with heavy rain and baseball-sized hail.

“Incredible, I haven’t seen anything like this in my 65 years,” said Barry Headrick, a Waskesiu summer resident.

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The storm hit the town at about 7:30 p.m. and lasted nearly an hour.

“Usually these storms don’t last that long, but this lasted an hour at least, it was quite serious,” he said.

The streets were flooded and the massive hail caused extensive damage breaking windows in storefronts and vehicle windshields alike. Branches were down across the townsite, including the Waskesiu Golf Course.

“A lot of our greens are underwater,” said Andrew Doig, from the course’s pro shop.

“I would be surprised if we were open tomorrow to be honest, just because looking out on the green it’s covered in branches and leaves and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had dents in the green.”

Both Doig or Headrick say residents up at the lake do get severe weather and thunderstorms from time to time, but neither can remember ever getting anything like this storm.

People are also reporting some damage from at 15 minute hail storm on Minowukaw beach at Candle Lake.

The tornado warning has come to an end across north, eastern Saskatchewan, but as of 9 p.m. Environment Canada has kept a severe thunderstorm watching in place for the communities of La Ronge, Prince Albert National Park and Narrow Hills Provincial Park.

The severe weather is due to a low pressure system moving into the Buffalo Narrows region.
Environment Canada recommends monitoring weather conditions and taking safety precautions of threatening weather approaches.

See images of the aftermath: Severe storm causes damage

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