Hail pounds parts of Manitoba, floods basements in Selkirk

They're mopping up in Selkirk after a storm cell dumped a heap of rain in one hour Thursday night.

Environment Canada said the "rogue storm cell" unleashed a downpour between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. It came down so hard and so fast that some people in Selkirk reported water seeping through their basement walls, said Mayor Larry Johannson.

"We had a real hit there," he said, adding the city received well over 100 storm-related calls through the night.

Along with numerous basements, many streets were flooded.

Shirley Sanderson is one of those whose basement resembled a lake. Her home didn't have a sewer back-up valve it ended up having about a metre of water.

"Our freezer tipped over, our washer tipped over, everything in our basement is a total loss," she said. "The kids had a play area down there, we had a sitting area, we had a man-cave and we've lost it all."

Roberto Monaco's basement was also left damp and damaged.

"We're hoping it's less than $5,000 [in damage] because that's what our insurance covers," he said. "We don't have a very large basement, we just had a furnace and washing machine down there, no furniture. But we just finished the floor."

His next-door neighbour had about 76 mm of water but another one across the street "had quite a bit of water in her basement," Monaco said. "So I think quite a few people were affected."

Monaco, Sanderson and others like them are now waiting for word from the city on what kind of help they'll receive.

Colette Ziolkoski burns sewage damaged furniture

9 years ago

Duration 0:53

A Selkirk couple whose basement was flooded in a downpour last night are cleaning up with a bonfire. Colette Ziolkoski and her husband had been renovating their basement before the storm hit.

The storm also produced hail in parts of southern Manitoba, along with great amounts of lightning and haunting clouds, but Winnipeg somehow avoided much of it.

Just one millimetre of rain was recorded at the airport, Environment Canada reported.

Areas in southwest Manitoba received a better soaking, with 23 mm in Morden and 20 mm in Pilot Mound. The latter was also hit by hail, as was Deloraine, which saw nickel-size stones.

Loonie-size hail was reported along the Manitoba-U.S. border, toonie-size hail fell near Pipestone and golf ball-size hail came down near Lauder in the Virden area.

Some places also battled a roaring wind, with gusts hitting 96 km/h in Killarney and 93 km/h in Somerset.

There was also a report of a funnel cloud but no tornadoes, according to Environment Canada.

• Thunderstorms to reach Winnipeg overnight, says Environment Canada

The storms have now moved off but will leave a hot and humid day across the south.

One elementary school, École Centrale in Transcona, has cancelled field day for kindergarten to Grade 3 because of the extreme heat in the forecast.

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&mdash;@TessierDesiree

RAW: Sekirk basement flooding

9 years ago

Duration 0:33

More than 100 people in Selkirk are cleaning out their basements after a sudden, heavy thunderstorm Thursday night. Shirley Sanderson checked her basement around midnight and there was close to a meter of water.