A woman living outside Cromer in the RM of Pipestone west of Brandon is dealing with the aftermath of a Saturday night storm that damaged her home.
Heather Smith told 680 CJOB the event has left her family rattled and put them in a difficult situation insurance-wise, but they’re lucky to be alive.
Around 11 p.m., they heard a big bang, a noise Smith said she believed was lightning. The wind picked up, at which point she sensed their trailer lift and then drop back down.
“It was just crazy,” she said. “We have this feeder that’s out … by the house here in the pasture, and it got lifted and thrown into the front of the trailer and smashed the windows.”
Other parts of the structure blasted past them into their truck, Smith said. The strong winds also blew debris into surrounding fields and took down more trees.
“Everything happened so fast,” Smith said, recalling hearing a loud “rumbling noise” along with a downpour.
“Next thing I know, the window’s smashing out, and we were freaking out.”
Smith said they visited their neighbours after the weather had calmed down.
“We’re lucky to be alive.”
They had just finished putting in new flooring and wiring, Smith said, along with a new roof, when the storm tore up parts of the new roof, hurling them onto the yard.
“We were almost at the point to insure it this coming week, and then this happened. So, we’re kind of screwed,” she said.
The sky is now visible through a bedroom ceiling. Many of the home’s windows also got smashed in.
Environment Canada and Climate Change meteorologist Justin Shelley said a line of thunderstorms made its way through the region Saturday night, but he said they didn’t have enough information to confirm a tornado in the area. An investigation is ongoing, he said.
Shelley asked that any people with information on the storm, such as pictures or videos, send it to mbstorm@canada.ca, or they can tweet their information with the hashtag “MBstorm” (#MBstorm).
He went on to say there is an enhanced risk of thunderstorm activity across the region Sunday evening.
Although the odds of a tornado aren’t zero, Shelley said the main concerns will be heavy rain, strong winds and large hail.
He said the system stretches from the southeast corner of Saskatchewan to most of southern Ontario, an area that includes Cromer, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg.
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