Storm hurls hail the size of walnuts, eggs, tennis and golf balls in Manitoba

Summer thunderstorms rumbled through southern Manitoba overnight, pounding parts of the province with hailstones as big as tennis balls.

But in most places, the storm system didn't leave much rain. It was more about the bombast a show of lightning and thunder, Environment Canada reports.

"I don't think there was any flooding-type rain out of this system," said Environment Canada meteorologist Dave Baggaley.

"The most serious event was the hail."

The storms were all part of the same weather system, which began in the southwest corner of the province Monday evening and rolled out the southeast corner just before 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The most rain that fell was 17.3 millimetres in Cypress River but the majority of communities in the path of the system had 5-15 mm. Winnipeg was at the low end of that.

"It kind of petered out in Winnipeg then blew up again" just east and southof the city,saidBaggaley. Ste. Agathewas hit by golf-ball-sized hail around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The most intense part of the system appeared to hit southwest Manitoba.

Alexander, a community just west of Brandon, was hammered by two stormsthat popped up within half an hour of one another and brought significant hail.

The first, at 8:30 p.m. Monday, dropped hail the size of eggs, while the second, at about 9 p.m., pitched walnut-sized hail, Baggaleysaid.

The small community of Medorahad the biggest hail at tennis-ball-sized.

"There were some very serious thunderstorms down in the southwest corner,"Baggaleysaid.

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