Thunderstorms, hail and rain hit central and southern Sask.

The skies cooked up a powerful, late summer storm for people in central and southern Saskatchewan on Friday night and into early Saturday morning.

Areas like Saskatoon, Assiniboia, Regina and Yorkton all got a special light show from the thunderstorms that rolled through the area.

Brad Vrolijk, lead forecaster with Environment and Climate Change Canada said powerful storms this late into summer are rare.

“It was definitely a bad one,” he said. “We’ve seen bigger outbreaks this summer. I think one thing that’s pretty impressive about this is it’s happening this late in the summer. Usually, these really big outbreaks don’t happen when you get into the second half of August.”

SW of Saskatoon last night. Spent a few hours chasing lightning and finally got some decent storm photos. #skstorm pic.twitter.com/slAo6gangk

— Jeff Wizniak (@WizniakJeff) August 24, 2024

The first of two major storms developed from the Alberta border and headed east towards Saskatoon, where the city saw some major flooding, causing road closures early this morning.

Saskatoon Police Service said the flooding closed both north and southbound lanes of Idylwyld Drive at the Circle Drive overpass, trapping several stalled vehicles. The road was reopened mid-morning.

“Parts of Saskatoon based on radar got upwards of 50-75 mm of rain with the potential of some slightly higher amounts in the area,” Vrolijk said.

Quite the light show in Saskatoon tonight. #skstorm pic.twitter.com/KnDsAsqzLs

— Fr. Darryl Millette (@frdarryl) August 24, 2024

There were also reports of nickel to quarter-sized hail.

The second major development came south of the border in Montana, U.S. The storm moved through Assiniboia and just south of Regina. It also produced large hail.

Golf ball sized hail east of Killdeer, Saskatchewan! #skstorm pic.twitter.com/vzEEsaYcCB

— Braydon Morisseau (@BraydonMoreSo) August 24, 2024

“There were lots of reports of golf ball sized hail from these thunderstorms and some pretty strong wind gusts,” he said. “It was close to 90 km/hr once it moved in. They eased a bit overnight. Hail sizes dropped down from nickel to quarter.”

According to Vrolijk, it’s hard to know exactly what areas got hit the hardest.

Lighting bolt across the sky in Saskatoon

A thunderstorm put on quite the show in Saskatoon last night. The city also saw anywhere between 50-75 mm of rainfall. (Will Mandzuk/650 CKOM)

“It’s very localized and spotty,” he said. “It’s equally split between some areas around the Saskatoon region and some areas south of the Trans Canada highway in southeast Saskatchewan. And with very broad, general amounts between 50-100 mm here and there.”

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These storms are likely to redevelop later today.

“It looks like today we’ll probably see another chance for severe weather in the Regina area and areas south, really running from Assinaboia to Regina and up to Yorkton,” Vrolijk said.

“It’s a little more conditional today but the storms could be even worse. This afternoon there is the potential for the redevelopment of thunderstorms capable of damaging hail and winds. There might even be a chance of an isolated tornado later today.”

No weather alerts had been issued for anywhere in Saskatchewan late morning Saturday.

— with files from 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink

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