WATCH: Hail storm damages crops in Oliver

OLIVER – A hail storm lasted for only 15 minutes, but it was long enough to cause serious damage to fruit crops.

It happened Monday, and today, orchardists are tallying up the devastation.

For some orchardists, this is the second year in a row that they’ve been hit by such a powerful storm.

“We had hail last year, and I lost everything,” said Sukhi Dhaliwal.

This time, however, Dhaliwal’s peaches and cherries were miraculously untouched by the hail.

But he lost half of his apple crop, which he estimated is a $35,000 loss.

The Minister of Agriculture recommends that tree fruit growers get hail damage insurance because spring and summer hail storms are frequent in the Okanagan.