GALLERY: 'Sounded like a war': Hail, thunderstorm trample southeast Saskatchewan; damaged buildings, vehicles and properties

"It just sounded like you're in a war. We're out on the farm there [and] on the grain bins, it was just like 'ding, ding, ding, ding,' - really, really loud. It made your ears ring. It was coming down so hard," shared Scott Kienlen, a farmer near Midale. 

The aftermath of the thunderstorm that brought hail and heavy winds to the southeast looked like a short-lived war had broken out - except the enemy was using ice pellets as ammunition. A great deal of the storm was observed around Estevan, with reports following along Highway 39. The community woke up to downed powerlines, branches on vehicles, windshields shattered, and some siding on homes showing signs of heavy damage. 

"About 10:30 pm or so it started raining. Then, the hail came and it started out about a quarter [in size], then [it] went to a toonie, ping pong and then [it] got bigger. It lasted about 10-15 minutes. Then about another half hour later was the 2nd storm - that's when the real big stuff that came there and probably just smaller or around baseball size just a little bit smaller than that. [There was] quite a bit of damage like shredded trees, house damage on siding, vehicle windshields are were shattered and the you know the the metal on there too," Kienlen added. 

This is just one of many hail pellets that landed on Kienlen's property. It looks more damaging due to its sheer size and pointy/pinecone-like shape. (Submitted photo)

Kienlen shared to DiscoverEstevan that his family is safe and only one of their vehicles were impacted. Another point of concern as a farmer is his crops. He noted that it's too early to tell what the damage could be. "The crops look like they're they're damaged. I mean, they're a little bit younger, so they may come back, but looks like canola got hit a little harder, but it's pretty, pretty early to assess till you start walking in there. The hay crop - it's all laying down flat."

Last night saw a lot of damage to buildings within the city. Soul Hideout's building on the corner of 5th Street and 12th Avenue had its roof shredded by the severe winds and the hail passing through the area. Another casualty was the Varsteel Steel Service Centre on Industrial Road, beside Highway 39 en route to Bienfait. Much of the industrial building's roof had been flung onto the highway beside it. Crews responded quickly and removed debris from the road. In both situations, no injuries were reported. 

The aftermath of the storm that ravaged Varsteel Steel Service Centre. Much of the debris the flew across the highway had been piled onto the ditch to keep motorists safe. (Lemuel Alquino/DiscoverEstevan)

DiscoverEstevan reached out to surrounding communities in the southeast to get a sense as to where the storm could've travelled. Representatives from the town offices of Lampman, Oxbow, Carlyle, and Redvers all reported they had no damage from the storm.