Lightning toppled a tree near P.A. resident Chris Knight's home during last night's thunderstorm. (submitted photo/Chris Knight)

By Brady Bateman

Thunder and Lightning

Thunderstorm welcomed by most, although not all

Jun 4, 2019 | 11:44 AM

Prince Albert was treated to a healthy dose of precipitation Monday, as a thunderstorm cell moved through the area, bringing with it much needed moisture.

According to Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada the area is still in desperate need of rain to catch up to the yearly average.

“This type of weather is what June is all about; this is very typical weather. We’re only a bit into June, but we know from the stats in May that it was still pretty dry, even though Prince Albert faired better than a lot of places,” Lang said.

“We recorded 11.3 mm of rain from the Prince Albert Airport, with wind gusts that weren’t all that exciting. It seemed to be concentrated right over the city. We also recorded 1,656 lightning strikes within 50 kilometres of the city, so it was a pretty active little storm.”

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Lang added 31 mm of rain was received in Prince Albert for the month of May in 2019, compared to 45 in the previous year. Lang also noted it was the 22^nd driest spring on record, out of 133 years of records.

“We’ve got a long way to go to make up that precipitation deficit, but this will go a long way in the Prince Albert region,” Lang said.

“We’re going to continue to get these storms, and we’re getting into a more unsettled pattern which means we will see a better chance of thundershowers – at least over the next week or so.”

According to Lang, the upcoming weekend looks particularly wet and unsettled, but the weather will help the province close the gaps in the precipitation deficit tremendously.

For Prince Albert resident Chris Knight, who lives south of the city on Highway 2, the storm came too close for comfort when lightning struck a tree only a few feet from his home.

“Around 8:30 p.m. or 9 the storm was rolling in, there had been lightning for a bit. We were sitting in the basement watching some TV, and then there was this huge crack, it was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard. It was insane,” Knight said.

“I thought maybe a power pole had been hit so I went outside to take a peek. I looked and everything seemed OK, then I turned to the side and saw the tree. It’s about 40 feet from the house, had just exploded, the top half was in the driveway, it was split down the centre and there were pieces across the yard.”

The tree nearly crushed one of the vehicles on the property. (submitted photo/Chris Knight)

Knight said there was no property damage because of the lightning strike, but he now has pieces of wood in every direction for 100 or more feet across his yard.

Although the summer showers hit too close for some, the precipitation was warmly welcomed by others in the area.

Dave Willness, who runs a oilseed and cereals farm northwest of P.A., said he was happy to see the moisture, although he told paNOW more is still needed.

“It’s been a drier spring than what we are used to in this area; usually we get good moisture. It will be nice to get the grasses in the pasture growing, and it will be good for the other crops that are seeded as well to replenish the moisture,” Willness said. “Last night pretty much caught us up for moisture, but it’s been so windy this spring that we’re still hoping to get some more this weekend.”

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Brady.bateman@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TheDigitalBirdy