Thunderstorms raged across southeast Saskatchewan last night, bringing lightning, thunder, rain, and hail. Strong winds were also reported, with gusts up to 65 kilometres an hour from the north reported in Weyburn, and much stronger winds reported in areas to the north.
The storm system moved up into the province from Montana around 5:00 p.m., with some of the severe storm warnings being escalated to tornado warnings near Mankota and Coronach.
“A few funnel clouds had formed on those systems, which is the reason why those tornado warnings did go out,” explained Jenny Hagan.
The system also generated what appeared to be plough winds, or even possibly the start of the formation of a tornado, in the Trossachs area, as captured by Bobbie-Lee McRae.
Officially, the system brought 33.1 millimetres of rain to Weyburn, the most seen on one day in the city since June. Unofficial reports on social media showed upwards of 50 millimetres in some areas, particularly in the Estevan area, where close to 60 millimetres fell in some neighbourhoods in a short period of time.
Hail was also reported across much of the southeast. The reported sizes varied from pea-sized in Weyburn itself, to ping-pong-sized hail near McTaggart, and even some reports of golf ball and baseball-sized hail north of Weyburn.
The area covered by the system that brought the storms to the Weyburn area included a large portion of the province. Not only were areas to the south affected, but to the north as well, with Cedoux, Francis, Balcarres, Regina, Canora, Kamsack and many more communities affected.
There is no word at this time as to the extent of the damage the storm has caused as producers are currently working on getting the 2024 crop in the bin. As well, suspected funnel clouds are still being investigated by Environment Canada to confirm if any tornadoes touched down as part of the system.