Recalling one of the most damaging events from the hailstorm capital of Canada
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features stories about people, communities, and events and how weather impacted them.
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On Saturday, September 7, 1991, Calgary, Alberta, was battered with tennis ball-sized hail. The hailstorm triggered 62,000 insurance claims that added up to $342 million.
Alberta isn't a stranger to strong storms and icy precipitation. Southern and central areas of Alberta are known as "Hailstorm Alley." Aggressive storms can produce huge hailstones that often damage property.
Courtesy of TWN
The hail usually falls from High River to Red Deer and Lacombe to Rocky Mountain House. This stretch of Alberta produces some of the most intense and damaging hail in the world. Calgary is known as the "hailstorm capital of Canada."
At the time, the 1991 event was the most damaging hailstorm in Canadian history, but it has since been surpassed.
Courtesy of TWN
On July 12, 2010, a hailstorm in Calgary produced four-centimetre-wide stones causing $400 million in damages. A few more major storms caused hundreds of millions worth of damages over the next decade until all records were broken in 2020.
On June 13, 2020, a storm hit Calgary and Airdrie that caused widespread damage and flash flooding. The storm cost approximately $1.5 billion, which makes it the fourth costliest natural disaster in the country's history.
To learn more about Hailstorm Alley and Alberta storms, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."
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