Thunderstorms with large hail roar through area

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This article was published 10/06/2012 (3947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nothing like the threat of a good ol’ rip-roaring storm to spice up a Saturday night.

U.S. storm chaser extraordinaire Reed Timmer got the ball rolling with a tweet he sent out at about 8 p.m.

“Supercell exploding in extreme northeast ND! We’re going to wait for it on the Canada side near Gretna.”

Then, about an hour later came this: “Waiting in Gretna, Man., for supercell with strong rotation. About to see 3″ hail and likely a tornado in 10-20 min!” It was Timmer’s last tweet for several hours.

While tornado warnings were issued for several towns in southern Manitoba, none reportedly touched down. In Winnipeg, heavy rain, strong winds and golf ball-sized hail were reported, but police said they didn’t experience a spike in calls and there were no reports of damage and no lines down or traffic lights out.

Timmer, who starred in the now-cancelled American reality television series Storm Chasers, was seen shortly after the storm hit Gretna tearing down Highway 75.

“Just north of Morris. No rain, but intermittent lightning. Just passed U.S. storm chasers,” tweeted Chris D.

Tweeters to #mbstorm picked up the ball from there.

Valerie Peers (@ValerieinWpg) tracked the storm’s progress across Winnipeg through the behaviour of her dog.

“Storm getting closer, Murphy the barometer is drooling & shaking like a leaf,” she tweeted at about 9:45 p.m. Then about half an hour later she followed with: “Rain seems to have stopped & no hail in old St. B. Murphy still hiding in the bathroom… more storm to come??”

Finally, about 15 minutes later, her pet sounded the all-clear.

“Ok, storm definitely over in St. B — Murphy has emerged from the bathroom & is eating his cookies!!”

Other than pets, plants and hockey playoffs were also a concern for some tweeters.

“I’m soaked and that hail kind of hurts, but think I got all the plants covered up. It looks ghetto but fingers crossed!” tweeted Nesta (@NestaMAZING).

Kim Browning (@Kim_Browning) tweeted: “Thankfully hockey didn’t go into OT, expect power outage soon!”

Just before 11 p.m., tornado warnings were lifted for the province.

Forecasters reported Saturday evening the storm system pushed into Ontario around midnight, but warned another round of severe thunderstorms is possible today as thunderstorms in the Dakotas may move into southern Manitoba early this morning.

Shortly after midnight this morning, Timmer sent this tweet from somewhere in the Sandilands: “We’re back! Saw a cone/stovepipe tornado off to our east after dark with lightning in the pine forests.”

— staff