'The roof was getting pummelled': Calgary hail storm causes widespread damage to homes, cars

Large hail and heavy rain pelted the Calgary area Monday night, causing widespread damage to houses and cars.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning at around 8 p.m., cautioning of an incoming thunderstorm capable of producing powerful wind gusts, baseball-sized hail and torrential rain.

The storm ripped across Calgary, bringing hail to the northern part of the city.

Purneet Sohal was home with her family as hail began to fall when suddenly the large chunks of ice cracked and then completely smashed the living room window.

“We thought nothing of the storm at first, but then it started just banging on our windows, the first layer of glass broke and then everything just shattered and there was glass everywhere,” she said.

“It was a scary moment.”

Meanwhile, other homeowners in the northwest Calgary community of Evanston also experienced extreme damage.

Jason Schoepfer has lived in the neighbourhood for 12 years and said he’s never seen a storm quite like this.

“It was like a scene out of the apocalypse.” he said.

“There was this wall of sound you heard off in the distance from the west and the storm just started rolling in slowly, I thought it was a plane at first and then it started increasing and increasing. It freaked us out and the hail just started hammering us.”

The storm also shook up residents in the Taradale neighbourhood, who told CTV News the sound brought with it “flashbacks” of another massive weather event.

“When (it) started, we actually thought it was going to be another 2020, with all the damage and everything else,” resident Khalil Karbani said. “The roof was getting pummelled and we could hear so much noise.

“It was a scary experience for us.”

Four years ago, a June storm caused over 70,000 claims and roughly $1.4 billion in insured damages. The brunt of it hit northeast communities like Taradale, Saddleridge and Redstone.

Kanwal Samra said his family had just recently updated parts of their home before Monday’s hail smashed multiple windows and destroyed a backyard shed.

“We were hit pretty hard in this area,” he said. “We were inside for about an hour just hoping the water doesn’t get in.”

His advice to those who haven’t been impacted by severe weather before is to start the insurance claim early and make sure to get two quotes.

The process can take some time, especially when there is a high number of claims in one area.

For more help, the Insurance Bureau of Canada has a consumer information centre that residents can call.

It can be reached at 1-844-227-5422.

'The right ingredients'

ECCC Warning and Preparedness Meteorologist Alysa Pederson notes that the storm developed in the late afternoon in Alberta’s foothills region, then tracked east and slightly southeast through Calgary and Strathmore.

“When we have the right ingredients in play for severe thunderstorms like we did Monday, we’re looking at hail that develops in a low freezing level,” she said.

“So with the temperature being about zero up high in the atmosphere if it's lower, we get bigger hail and because the hail can, you know, stay in that below-freezing part of the storm, a little bit longer, it’s also just really unstable in the atmosphere and creates these severe storm cells.”

According to a weather summary from Environment & Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on Tuesday morning, the largest hail fell in the hamlet of Queenstown, Alta.; around the size of a baseball.

The national weather service said the strongest winds were recorded in Tilley, Alta., where gusts reached 100 km/h.

Many social media videos show destroyed gazebos, smashed car windows and damaged siding.

Hail damage to the siding of a home in the community of Redstone in Calgary on Monday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Matthew Knight)

Crops destroyed

Freshlandia Farm, located in Delacour, Alta., grows Arabic vegetables and many specialty fruits for the local community, but had its entire crop destroyed and its greenhouse severely damaged.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Mohamed Eldaher, who owns the farm with his wife Nahima.

The pair immigrated to Calgary as refugees from Syria in 2016 and started the farm not long after.

“It was just so heartbreaking watching your dream get broken like this, you know we started to build this seven years ago and within one hour it’s all broken.”

Saima Jamal, a close friend of the refugees, is now organizing a fundraiser to help raise enough money to cover the damage to the greenhouse.

She notes that donations are extremely important because many small vegetable farmers in Alberta are unable to obtain insurance.

“It’s at least $60,000 to $70,000 worth of damage,” she said.

“This is a husband and wife, they do all this hard work and everyone is just devastated. If you just look at the zucchini, it's like somebody put it on a blender. You look at the fava beans, it's completely flat and the chickpeas, it's like it's broken. It was just going to be ready in one week. Everything was destroyed.”

Cash donations to Freshlandia Farm are being accepted by Jamal who is fundraising on behalf of Mohamed and Nahima.

E-transfers can be sent to [e-mail].

Drivers search for shelter

The hail also caused grief for motorists.

Sections of major routes like Stoney Trail and Deerfoot Trail became flooded with water as drivers tried to find shelter under overpasses.

Calgary police reminded drivers that stopping on major roadways during severe weather can be hazardous and could lead to fines and demerits.

“Stopping due to hail damage risk is not an emergency,” police said in a social media post.

Calgary airport damaged

The storm also caused damage to the airport, forcing travellers at gates B and C to evacuate.

On Monday, the airport announced its domestic terminal building was closed due to damage caused by hail and heavy rainfall.

The airport says in a post on social media the work has started to clean up the water and assess the damage.

However, parts of the domestic terminal will remain closed until further notice.

The airport is telling passengers to check with their airline for flight updates.

- With files from The Canadian Press