so this is summer???

[srgalahad]

Last week the forecast looking ahead through the week was for sunny and 80's

not so today. last night we came home to some minor damage and an inch of new water in my fish pond... good thing as today we got another storm.. not much rain.. it was all frozen into pea, grape and golfball-sized hail for about 30 minutes

Trees are shredded, plants are flat, flowers will need a bunch of recovery time.

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/Video+Hailstorm+Calgary/3268195/story.html

The video may take some time to load as the server is being inundated ( or clobbered by more hail and wind)

and at "The Biggest Outdoor Show on Earth"
http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/Video+Severe+thunderstorm+empties+Stampede+midway/3267926/story.html

Fortunately our car was in the garage, but the insurance companies and body shops are going to be busy for the next while, as are roofing companies. Luckily we got our new (metal) roof a month ago - loud, but undamaged

Rob

[Cloud9Gal]

OMG Rob! That's crazy! Look at the size of that hail! http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/Surprise/surprised-023.gif (http://freesmileyface.net/Free-Surprise-Smileys.html)

[PRB]

Wow, big hail! Do you get normally get thunderstorms in the summer up there? Here at least, thunderstorms are associated with summer, and hail is associated with thunderstorms. So hail in summer is "normal".

[srgalahad]

yeah, it's "normal" but a pain in the patoot as we had a lousy spring, it was just getting nice and we love the tourist dollars that should get spent at the Stampede.

Besides, i didn't have to work today and was hoping to lounge on the deck ( would be one giant bruise if I did).

The (HAHA) Farmer's Almanac was trying to tell us it was going to be normal to high temps and dry.. maybe they got the year (or decade) wrong

[CG_1976]

Geez you get that down there and up here it's BBQ and beach WX. Glad your alright. Hail is such a pita.

[cheezyflier]

VvfxUdV8sZw

[Astoroth]

I live in SW Missouri, an area we locals call "Little Tornado Alley". All the big storms form up over in Oklahoma and Kansas, and then march this way. Today was one of those days we all know and Love/Hate.....

First the hot, muggy, super-humid, absolutely still air, not a breath stirring.

Then the clouds begin to form on the horizon, and they're ugly grey and black brutes. We quietly begin gathering the kids and dogs, and getting our "storm bag" ready for the trip to the shelter. By mid-afternoon there's no doubt, it's gonna be a "run-for-the-hidey-hole kinda day.

When the air finally begins to stir, it's not good. First it blows from the west, then the north, then the west, then the south. Then just starts to stir around every which way, as the thunder starts rolling in.

The sky started turning that sickly green that everyone around here knows means "It's time to go!" We headed out into the yard and cracked the door on "the Hole", a 6 x 6 x 8 ft deep concrete storm cellar buried flush with the ground. The storm bag with the Radio, water and snacks is lowered down, and we stand up top, waiting for the last possible moment to go down, as four nervous humans and 2 nervous dogs packed into a 6x6 hole can get a little, shall we say, stifling.

When the temperature suddenly drops 15' and the sirens start to blow, everyone goes down, and the dogs quickly find a corner to pee in, let's get it over with early....
I'm standing on the top of the ladder with my head poking out, one hand on the door, ready to drop down and slam the door shut. Looking off to the west I saw quite a memorable sight....one massive wall cloud with 4, count 'em, 4 funnels dangling out of it. None are touching ground yet, but they are trying to make up their minds if they're hungry or not, dipping down towards the ground, then bouncing back up.

Into the hole I go, slam the steel plate door overhead and throw the double bolts. 45 minutes we huddle in "the Hole", listening to the wind, rain, and what sounds like a ballpeen hammer banging on the door, but is really golf ball size hail. Finally the all clear siren sounds, and out we pop, no one wanting to stay in that stinking hole any longer than we have to.

Once again, we got lucky, no touchdowns here. I've lived here 8 years now, been in the Hole countless times, and came out lucky every time so far. Hoping my luck continues to hold. The old-timers here in Sheldon tell you that there has never been a tornado touch down within the city limits since the founding of the town. Let's hope it stays that way for many more years to come..

[cheezyflier]

i dunno, maybe it's a dumb idea, but if i was to build a house in a place like that, i'd put the whole thing, garage and all, underground.

[GT182]

Rob, we had a torential downpour here early this morning that that all but overflowed our Koi pond. Fish are peeking out at the new swimmin hole in the backyard wanting to make a run for it. But I drained off some water just to keep em home and getting any funny ideas. Koi are not as dumb as they look, and have a great memory..... feeding time proves that. :icon_lol:

[srgalahad]

Rob, we had a torential downpour here early this morning that that all but overflowed our Koi pond. Fish are peeking out at the new swimmin hole in the backyard wanting to make a run for it. But I drained off some water just to keep em home and getting any funny ideas. Koi are not as dumb as they look, and have a great memory..... feeding time proves that. :icon_lol:

We had a tense moment just at the end of the storm. My wife called me downstairs to show me... a full-grown seagull sitting beside the pond. ARGH!!! Pond's near the brim, the Koi are tucked under the plants to avoid the artillery barrage and there's this big gull sitting there... Turns out the gull didn't care about the fish - he'd literally been knocked out of the sky by the hail.

Now I've never been a fan of 'poohawks' but I withheld the urge to 2x4 it before it noticed the fish. He wandered about the deck like a drunk (probably shaking off the concussion) pilot, staggered over to the gate and 'crawled' under it. There's not enough room in the yard for a good take-off run so I guess he finally found enough room for departure.

There was so much disturbance I had to go out and clean the filter last night as it had been clogged with plant shreds and stuff stirred up. The Koi were probably thinking fall had come and it was time to hibernate - the water was frigid!

No, its not the most extreme weather (the 1992 hailstorm was, for a while, the largest weather-related insurance claim outside of Hurricane Andrew), but since we never had a decent spring, and only a few days of "real summer" -- I think I'd rather deal with cartels and tropic heat than have to buy an armoured car with an oversize heater...

Canada.. 10 months of winter, and two months of tough sledding...

[Tako_Kichi]

Just be thankful you don't live down here in Canada's 'Banana Belt' Rob.

A couple of weeks ago we had THREE F1 and F2 tornadoes rip through the county at 3 a.m. Thankfully there was no loss of life and only one reported case of injuries requiring hospital treatment but the damage runs into millions of dollars and some things cannot be replaced.

One park alone had more than a hundred 150 year old trees levelled and there are still some houses with tarps covering holes in the roof or in one case with a huge tree still buried in what's left of the house.