Property owners in and around Imperial began the long process of cleaning up last week after a vicious July 5 storm that featured fastball-sized hailstones, torrential rain and a monstrous tornado blew through the area.
Helen Abrey, who lives southeast of Imperial with her husband Ted, said they are alive to tell the tale of the storm for three main reasons. She said they have to thank their daughter Amy for preparing them for the upcoming storm by texting them updates from Saskatchewan Tornado Watch in addition to being lucky enough to reside in an old and heavy T. Eaton house and also having a row of poplar trees beside their home.
“We were very fortunate (because) I think if the trees hadn’t taken the brunt of the force of the tornado that went through, the house would have gone,” said Abrey, noting trees on the north side in front of the house were snapped in two either above or at ground level and ones on the east side of the home were also toppled. “That was the fortunate part, but it has created damage and it has created a lot of mess.”
Abrey said the trees that were taken down by the tornado subsequently fell onto the house, which has resulted in their four points of entry into the home being reduced to one along with puncture holes in the roof of the porch, a destroyed balcony railing and damage to all portions of the fascia. She said the tremendous force of the twister even embedded one branch into part of their veranda and blasted other “big timbers” over the house onto the far side of the yard.
“It was quite frightening,” she said. “We’ve lived in the house for 30 years and we’ve never headed to the basement before, so this was the first time that we felt that we maybe should take cover. I love to watch storms, but I guess not this time.”
Norman Lucas, a farmer living northwest of Imperial, said they are going to have to completely re-side the house and roof after “fastball sized” hailstones rained down on his property. He said there are over 100 holes in the roof due to the storm and some of the hailstones even went through the roof and into the wood underneath it.
“When it first started to come down it started as pea-sized hail and then it went up to popcorn size and then it kept going,” said Lucas a couple days after the Saturday afternoon storm. “It went to golf ball and then right to fastball. We have divots in our lawn. I just actually finished mowing up all the trees, but it drove (some ice) into the ground four inches (deep). There are holes all over. It did that in town too. It was one I don’t want to see again.”
To read more please see the July 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.