Hailstorm floods streets, basements in Swift Current, Sask.

Hailstorm floods streets, basements in Swift Current, Sask.

Unconfirmed reports a tornado touched down in Battlefords area

Swift Current is cleaning up after rain and hail hammered the southwest Saskatchewan city, flooding streets and damaging crops in the surrounding area.

It's one of several severe weather events across the province over the weekend. The Northern Tornadoes Project is investigating reports that a tornado touched down in the Battlefords area on Friday.

Corla Rokochy lives in Swift Current and said she and her family didn't get much sleep.

"The hail started and all the kids woke up and we just waited by the front door and really hoped that the windows weren't going to smash, because there have been some windows smashed around town, I've heard, and just waited to see what the damage is going to end up being," Rokochy said.

She said the storm was intense.

"It only lasted about 10 or 15 minutes, but the amount of water that was running down the street, it was like a river," Rokochy said.

The storm drain on her street wasn't up to the task.

"As soon as it gets plugged with hail, then the water just backs up and we're in such a low spot. It ends up on our grass and up on our driveway, and pushes all the hail up."

Rokochy's daughter got out her kayak and headed out to the street.

"She decided to go out and maybe direct a little bit of traffic. And at the end of our lawn, there's logs that have really long nails. And when the water gets up, they'll float out into the street," Rokochy said.

"We didn't want anyone to end up driving over that or ruining their tire. So she went out to collect that and try to stop people from going by. So I guess she had the right of way in that situation."

Saskatchewan is in the middle of storm season, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologist Terri Lang said in an interview.

"We have so much moisture sitting around in the fields from the rains that we've had. Plus the crops are growing and they give off a tremendous amount of moisture as well into the atmosphere, and we've got the heat going," Lang said.

Swift Current received 26.4 millimetres of precipitation on Sunday and saw winds gusting up to 120 kilometres per hour, Lang said.

'That's a bad idea': Cars and kayak brave hailstone river in Swift Current

The evening storm flooded residential streets and basements. An RCMP vehicle appeared stranded on one flooded street and needed a tow truck to get out.

The hail wasn't large, but the amount overwhelmed drainage systems, Lang said.

"There were some reports of marble-size — maybe toonie-size — but most of it was smaller than that," Lang said.

"It was shredding a lot of the leaves on the trees. So when you have a whole bunch of hail and a whole bunch of leaves and a whole bunch of rain coming down at the same time, a lot of the drains were blocked from all that debris and ice."

Devon Oman had been in Gull Lake watching a movie. He said the hail started when he returned home to Swift Current.

"I was trapped in my garage for a little bit, so I didn't want to get pelted by like ice chunks. So then I waited 'til it died down, went inside. I felt pretty tired. I was going to go to bed," Oman said.

"But I had this weird gut feeling about checking my basement. So then I went down my steps and then the first step I felt a squish, and then I saw water above my toe and I was like, 'oh great.'"

Oman said he phoned his brother right away. One was using a carpet vacuum and the other was using a shop vacuum to clean up the water as best as they could.

He said he has been having a tough year and the flooding makes it worse.

"I really wanna break down and cry, to be honest. I was stressed out," he said. "I've never experienced a flooded basement before."

Paul Hegglin is a partner with W.W. Smith Insurance Ltd in Swift Current. He said the phones have been ringing off the hook.

"We have 11 brokers on staff that are all reporting claims as of 11:30 this morning. We've already reported 113 property claims around the city. That doesn't include auto claims. It ranges from houses to commercial buildings. You name it, it was damaged last night," Hegglin said.

Hegglin asked for patience and urged people to document the damage they've incurred.

"No one expects you to live in a war zone until the adjusters come out to take a look at it, but do as much clean up as you can. Take notes, take photos. The more you document, the better," he said.

At least a dozen communities across west-central Saskatchewan were under tornado warnings over the weekend, including Aquadeo, a resort village on Jackfish Lake about 40 kilometres north of the Battlefords.

Around 100 residents there took shelter in the community hall basement on Saturday and Sunday.

While Friday's tornado isn't confirmed, the Northern Tornadoes Project has confirmed two tornadoes touched down on June 28 near Badgerville, which is about 370 kilometres east of Saskatoon. Both caused some damage, but no injuries were reported, according to the project's website.

Lang said the weather will calm down for the next couple of days, but another storm system could arrive by mid-week. She reminded people to have a severe weather emergency plan in place before a storm hits.

Jeremy Warren is a reporter in Saskatoon. You can reach him at jeremy.warren@cbc.ca.