Emergency alerts were triggered by several strong thunderstorms in the Calgary area on Monday night because of the possibility of large hail, strong winds, and heavy rain.
The weather office issued several warnings about the storms, saying that they could produce “baseball size or greater hail,” very strong wind gusts, and torrential rain. Meteorologists were keeping an eye on them.
Every storm was oriented toward the east.
Messages on social media indicated that the northern parts of Calgary were particularly severely affected. This included the terminal building of the Calgary International Airport, which sustained damage during one of the storms that moved through the region.
Videos of water dripping from ceiling tiles inside the Calgary International Airport were posted by users on Reddit and X, the social media site that was formerly known as Twitter.
The airport posted on social media, “We can confirm there has been damage to YYC’s terminal building due to hail and heavy rainfall.”
“Due to water damage, B gates and some C gates are being evacuated for the safety of all visitors and employees. There have been no reported injuries.
About a dozen departures were canceled for the remainder of Monday as of 10 p.m., and numerous other inbound and outbound flights were experiencing delays.
Toonie-sized hail was seen falling in north central and northeast Calgary, according to photos and video that were shared at 8:15 p.m. Numerous other reports claimed that hail had severely damaged skylights, windows, and siding in different parts of the city. There were also car damages.
Some photos showed whole lawns covered in what appeared to be snow-covered hail.
Traffic cameras owned by the City of Calgary appeared to capture cars trying to get cover from the storm at the underpass connecting Stoney Trail and Deerfoot Trail in north Calgary. These vehicles were obstructing all lanes.
One storm that developed just before 8 p.m. affected Brooks, Strathmore, Vulcan, Airdrie, Cochrane, Olds, Sundre, Calgary, Drumheller, and Three Hills, according to Alberta Emergency Alert on its website.
A second strong thunderstorm was moving toward Blackie, Arrowhead, Milo, Vulcan, Carmangay, and Lomond approximately an hour later.
The environment issued a warning shortly after 9:30 p.m. about a third storm south of Calgary, near Okotoks.
“Extremely large hail can smash windows, destroy property and vehicles and cause life-threatening injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles,” Environment Canada said in its warnings.
An emergency notification sent to mobile devices and over broadcast media told people to avoid windows and, if outdoors, to protect their heads.
The severe thunderstorm warning for Calgary proper was rescinded at 8:43 p.m., according to Environment Canada, although rain and wind continued to pummel parts of the city long afterward.
Hail struck with force, breaking a few windows. Northwest Calgary. Hulked through the glass, holding wooden blinds against the hail.
