‘It was just a sheet of water and hail’: Strathmore roads flooded by severe thunderstorm

Highway 1 westbound was completely underwater in the town of Strathmore east of Calgary Thursday as the result of a massive storm system sweeping through Alberta.

Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Strathmore area shortly after 1 p.m., which ended about 20 minutes later. It was quickly followed by another warning, shortly before 3:30 p.m..

READ MORE: ‘It was chaos’: witness to funnel cloud in central Alberta as tornado warning was issued

Watch below: The Trans-Canada Highway was flooded Thursday after a spring storm hit Strathmore. Global’s Paul Haysom reports.

2:08 Trans-Canada highway flooded after storm

“When I saw the clouds, I thought we were going to get a twister, when I looked at first,” Strathmore resident Bernie Haniak said. “Out my trailer door you couldn’t even see outside. It was just a sheet of water and hail. But, it’s come and gone! Just like that! Unbelievable.”

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Crews wearing waders were climbing into the water, which was about chest high by 5 p.m., as they worked to clear storm drains.