Calgary's 'Hail Alley' provides valuable data for hailstorm research - Calgary Herald

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.--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 TWNThe 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. "Content continues belowAt the time, the 1991 event was the most damaging hailstorm in Canadian history, but it has since been surpassed.

We’re more than halfway through meteorological spring and it’s been quite the unusual season for tornadoes across North America. Hundreds of tornadoes have touched down south of the border this year, but not exactly where you’d expect to see them. Canada still hasn’t confirmed any tornadoes so far in 2026. DON’T MISS: Canada’s first tornado of the year is closer than you thinkIt’s been an active year for twisters across the United States, which is by far the most tornado-prone country in the world. Meteorologists have confirmed more than 530 tornadoes across 27 states since the start of the year. This is slightly ahead of normal for this point in the year. Most of those tornadoes were on the weaker side, though just over 50 were considered significant after producing damage rated EF-2 or worse on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Content continues belowThe year’s strongest confirmed tornado was an EF-4 that struck near Enid, Oklahoma, with maximum estimated winds of 275 km/h. Officials have reported 12 direct fatalities as a result of this year’s tornadoes.