But about 10 minutes later, just after 6pm, it was a completely different story. A storm rolled through the area, smashing huge chunks of hail into dozens of cars that were 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 was coming down on me and it shattered and shattered,” he told the Calgary Eyeopener. “My windshield is completely destroyed… I was just scared that thing was going to run over me.” He managed to get to the side of the road and waited for the storm to pass. In all, it took about 10 to 15 minutes, he said, but it made its mark. According to RCMP, 34 vehicles were damaged Monday – up from an earlier estimate of 70 – while many people suffered minor injuries and three collisions were caused by the storm. Matt Berry, one of the many caught in Monday’s hailstorm, says many good Samaritans stopped by damaged cars to see if anyone needed a ride. (Matt Berry) Stuart Brideaux, Alberta Health Services public education officer, says local fire and EMS also attended the scene at about 6:30 p.m. Although some people were hit indirectly by hail blowing through windows and broken glass, he said no one needed to be transported to the hospital. That’s good news, considering the size of the hail falling. “We were all a bit shocked to be honest … I’m pretty sure we’re probably going to set a new record for mass,” said Julian Brimelow, executive director of Western University’s North Hail Project. -year study based in Alberta. “We’ve been getting reports of grapefruit-sized hail, softball-sized hail…Typically on a great day, we might have tennis ball-sized hail, which is six to seven centimeters. [Monday]we had many stones that were over 10 centimeters in diameter.” Recap of yesterday’s mission to• Collected 7 baseball bags to grapefruit sized hail• Deployed 4 pre-hail probes (2 with video) and all hit successfully• A hail of 106mm was measured and achieved pic.twitter.com/j2Fxs2uUHQ —@NHP_field The team took their samples to a lab in Red Deer to confirm if the hailstones set a provincial or even national record. “From what we can tell, the rocks had fallen to the ground about 20 minutes before our team got there. So there was some melting,” he said. “It’ll be close, I think.” He’s not sure why the hail in this storm was so much larger than usual, but he expects it may have to do with an abundance of moisture near the ground on Monday, which is not typical in Alberta. Storm chaser Matt Melnyk says he likes to photograph big storms and compare them to others because “you never see the same storm twice.” (Matt Melnick) This element, along with the usual storm components, may have combined to provide more fuel for the formation of hailstones. Matt Melnyk, a storm chaser in Alberta, also wonders what led to the size of the hailstones. Went to Innisfail Monday to assess and take pictures of the storm. “This particular storm had a very, very large rotating updraft, which kept the hail inside the storm for a long time,” he told CBC Calgary News on the 6th. “It was extremely intense.” WATCHES | Storm chaser Matt Melnyk describes what it was like to watch Monday’s hail near Innisfail:
What Monday’s hail near Innisfail looked like from a storm chaser’s perspective
Storm chaser Matt Melnyk talks with CBC Calgary News host Andrew Brown 6 about Monday’s hail near Innisfail, Alta., and why he likes chasing strong 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 on Tuesday
Jeff Tug saw this devastation with his own eyes. He owns Tagg’s Extreme Towing Ltd. in Red Deer. His team was called to help just north of Innisfail on Monday night and believes dozens of other cars were damaged by the storm. “All hell broke loose … There were about 100, maybe a few more than that, up there with all kinds of damage,” he said. “The windshields were just broken. Some of them looked like someone hit their body in the front.” Some towing companies showed up to help move the cars off the road, Tagg said. They were on the scene until about 3 a.m., and at least one company continued to work into Tuesday to remove cars from the area. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says it may not have estimates around insured losses for several weeks. Melnyk says Alberta’s worst storms usually occur in the last two weeks of July and the first week of August. (Matt Melnick) However, if your vehicle is hit by hail, there are some steps you should take. First, take pictures of the damage from all angles, according to Rob de Pruis, national director of consumer and industry relations with 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 period to finalize anything related to your claim,” he told CBC Edmonton News at 6. You may want to buy optional comprehensive coverage, de Pruis said, which covers hail, wind and water damage to your vehicle. Monday’s hail damaged several cars, but no one at the scene was seriously injured, AHS says. (Matt Berry) If you pay extra expenses, be sure to keep these receipts. “If you are unable to drive your vehicle, if you tow your vehicle to the nearest repair facility, keep the receipt for that towing as this may also be covered by your insurance policy.” Berry is one of several drivers who had their vehicle towed to a nearby lot. He got a ride home from his mom 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 would never have guessed that this could have happened so quickly,” he said. “It was crazy.”
