It seemed to last for hours but it actually took only seconds for a tornado to wipe out Pat and Rita Hawkins’ farmyard near Shamrock in southwestern Saskatchewan.
Their house in a nearby yard escaped damage, but the couple lost granaries, both full and empty, a barn, Quonset, feed mill, fences, corrals and cattle.
“Anything that was wood blew away,” said Pat.
The storm started about 8:30 p.m. on June 17. The day had been hot and steamy and then the sky turned black and thunder began to roll.
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The ensuing wind, rain and hail were so fierce Rita could not see across the yard. The roar of the wind, rain and hail was deafening, she said.
“I hope to never see another (tornado) in my lifetime.”
The whirling wind cut a swath about 30 metres wide and toppled buildings, upended vehicles and pulled out trees. A 15 metre high evergreen beside their son’s house was pulled out by its roots.
Golf ball and baseball-sized hail pummeled everything in the immediate area. Rita estimated about 150 millimetres of rain pounded down in about an hour and half.
With the fences gone about 1,200 head of yearling cattle were scattered. The next day as family members picked through the damage, they joined neighbours and headed out with quads, trucks and on horseback in search of the missing cattle.
They found many of the frightened animals wandering about 12 kil-ometres from home. Three had died and seven had to be killed because of injuries they suffered. Some are still missing. No one is sure if the cattle ran away once the fences were blown down or if they were caught up in the wind.
Because the feed mill and all feed supplies have been lost at the Hawkins’ place, the surviving animals have been shipped elsewhere.
Cleanup started the next day.
“It’ll take a couple days to get it all fixed,” said Pat.
Insurance assessors were arriving June 20 to estimate damages and determine what was eligible for coverage. Besides property damage, the hail beat down the grain fields.
“The crops are shredded but they should come back,” said Pat.
Active weather for the evening of June 17 was reported throughout the region from the United States border to Saskatoon, according to Environment Canada.
Funnel clouds and tornado touchdowns were seen in Saskatchewan near Cadillac, north of Davidson, Swift Current, Val
Marie, Admiral, Maple Creek, Morse and Ravenscrag.
