WINNIPEG — The thunderstorm that hit Winnipeg early Friday morning caused an explosive wake-up call for one River Heights resident.
Just after 6 a.m. Josh Behnish was woken up by the storm and went to go close his window. As he was shutting it, he heard a loud bang outside his home on Corydon Avenue. A tree in the back of his house had been struck by lightning.
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“I felt a strong vibration and heard a loud bang … and there was huge explosion from when the lightning hit the tree,” Behnish said.
“My window blew out into my room, so I was covered in glass.”
He said he suffered a few minor scratches but wasn’t seriously hurt.
Behnish went outside to check the damage and saw the 12-metre pine tree was reduced to a jagged stump. The branches and trunk were scattered across the yard. Some of the tree landed on the roof of the house.
“Just knowing how big the tree was before … and to see what was left of it was pretty wild,” he said.
City crews were on scene Friday afternoon cleaning up the damage.