It seems unusual to have hail pound the windows of your home in late February — but that’s exactly what Calgarians experienced on Monday evening.
Though the city saw a high of 8 C recorded at the airport during the day, by night the mild temperatures were gone and snow began to fall.
Residents living in some parts of the city were surprised to hear thunder and see small pellets of hail collect on the ground while lightning flashed overhead
“It was weird — it’s not rare though,” said Global Calgary meteorologist Jordan Witzel. “You don’t come to expect that, that’s for sure, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see some lightning in the winter — some thunder as well.
“We’re in the foothills, we’re in the Rockies — that type of stuff can happen.”
At around 9 p.m., Calgarians started sharing photos of the wacky winter weather on social media.
According to Environment Canada, the average high for Calgary on Feb. 22 is 0.8 C.
The record high for the city on Feb. 22 was 14.4 C, recorded in 1970.
On Tuesday morning, the City of Calgary tweeted to say crews were working to clear major roads — which are mostly wet but have some icy sections as well.