Weekend hailstorm left gardens decimated, broke through shopping mall's roof dome

The sudden, powerful hailstorm that swept over Calgary Saturday evening left gardens decimated, damaged the siding of homes, and even appeared to break through a plexiglass dome at the Chinook Mall food court. 

David Coderre was in the southwest Calgary mall around 8:30 p.m. when he and his kids heard a "tremendous sound" coming from the hallways.

"I was, like, what is that noise?" he said. "It sounded almost like a marching band was coming through with drums." 

Knowing a thunderstorm warning had been issued, Coderre quickly realized it was hail.

When he and his kids walked to the second-floor food court to see the scene outside, they noticed that a plexiglass dome overhead was breaking, letting in the elements. 

"It didn't seem dangerous because it wasn't actually glass, it was plastic, but it was kind of weird to see hail coming through a food court," Coderre said. 

Mall management did not respond to requests for an interview.

Environment Canada meteorologist Andrew Palmer said Saturday's fast-moving storm developed over the western part of the city and swept toward the south. He said Sunday that he hadn't heard reports of major damage. 

In the storm's way was Ashley Brown's duplex in the southeast community of Riverbend. She said hail as large as golf balls shredded her garden and chipped her siding. 

"This time, the hail was just a lot bigger than normal," Brown said. "The amount was insane."

The hailstones also crushed Traci Zeller's garden in Marda Loop, in southwest Calgary. The storm came on so quickly Zeller didn't have time to cover her plants. 

"It was probably one of the most brutal ones I've seen in a long time," said Zeller, who's lived in Calgary for over 25 years. 

Michael Metcalf, who recently moved to Calgary, was driving on Deerfoot Trail in southeast Calgary when the storm hit. 

He said traffic came to a standstill as cars huddled together under the Glenmore Trail overpass. 

"I have hail damage," he said. "Everybody under that bridge was obviously concerned for their vehicles as well."

Rob de Pruis, national director of consumer and industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said the severity of the weekend storm is currently being assessed, adding that it generally takes a month to determine the scale of the damage and its financial impact.  

Even so, he encouraged those with damaged homes and vehicles to submit claims sooner than later. 

De Pruis also underlined that severe weather events are increasing with the new reality brought on by climate change. 

"Catastrophic weather losses continue to rise in Canada with $2 billion annual insured damages being normal," he said. 

For Brown, she knows hail damage in Calgary is just a fact of life. 

"It was just a matter of time when it would hit us."