A picture taken in the Candle Lake area. (Submitted photo/Amber Panchuk)
Storm aftermath

Mother nature leaves mess following flash storm

Jul 23, 2021 | 12:00 PM

Editor’s note: This story was ammended at 520p.m. to include an update from Sask Power.

There are numerous reports of broken trees, toonie-sized hail, and power outages following a flash storm that rolled through the central and western areas of the province Thursday night.

Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang told paNOW wind speeds varied from place to place.

“It looks like the strongest wind at the Prince Albert airport was 82 km/hr,” she said.

In comparison, the wind speed at the airport in North Battleford airport was clocked at 102 km/hr.

In addition to strong winds, there were reports of golf-ball-sized hail around Loon Lake, and loonie-sized hail in the Emma Lake and Blue Heron Provincial Park areas. Lang explained the sudden change in weather last night was the result of a storm moving in on a cold front.

“I think what people might have noticed last night as soon as this thing blasted through and the dust settled, the temperature dropped very, very quickly and the humidity dropped,” she said.

A photo of the hail in the Christopher Lake area. (Submitted photo/Karla Bear)
A broken tree in the Buckand area was responsible for a power outage. (Facebook/Buckland Fire and Rescue)
This tree in the Christopher Lake area was no match for the wind gusts. (Submitted photo/Neil Headrick)

Acknowledging that the lakes were among the hardest hit, Lang cautioned summer storms like the one Thursday night can be very dangerous. She said it’s important people know what to do.

“Make sure you get off the lakes and get into safe areas before it hits. Often you will see people scrambling around in the midst of it when the watches and warnings have been out for hours,” she said.

As a result of those strong wind gusts, and trees falling onto power lines, a number of areas experienced power outages.

(Twitter/SaskPower)

Shortly after 5p.m. Friday, a spokesperson for Sask Power confirmed power should now be restored for customers in the Emma Lake, Christopher Lake and Candle Lake areas..

Roughly 1,100 homes and businesses were impacted by the outage.

Scott McGregor told paNOW it’s believed the source was a large spruce tree that fell on a main feeder line.

Earlier in the day McGregor cautioned people in the affected areas to watch out for downed lines or damaged infrastructure.

‘They are encouraged to stay back 10 meters at least, give us a call and we’ll send a crew out as soon as we can can to get the area safe,” he said.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

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