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Summer Storm Brings Hail
Author: mt43news reporter

Summer Storm Brings Hail

MT43 News Staff Reporter

A severe summer storm on Saturday afternoon was short and swift. “It hit about 3:30 p.m. We weren’t expecting hail. Our weather station didn’t show it at all,” according to Vanessa Flynn.

In the 10 minutes the storm hit, Flynn said their station showed 81.2 miles per hour wind gusts, which ripped shingles from their roof, tore up one of their four-wheelers, and damaged their barbecue with golf-ball-sized hail. “At least it didn’t break the skylights in our house. The last time we had heavy hail, our skylights were broken out,” she said.

They had some hay down and in windrows, which were wet, but not too damaged. The field across the road is in potatoes. “The potato crop was flattened,” she said. She did not know the extent of the damage to that crop.

To call this “isolated showers” is an understatement. The storm was about ¼ mile wide and traveling fast, according to Peggy Flynn. Vanessa lives at 273 Flynn Lane; her mother-in-law, Peggy, lives less than one-half mile up the road. Her brother-in-law lives further up the road. The hail at his house was dime-sized, the hail at Peggy’s house was quarter-sized and Vanessa’s was golf-ball-sized.

Article Images

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PhotoCredit: Photos Provided by Vanessa Flynn
Image 1 Caption: Daughter Sevigne Flynn gathered these huge hailstones in their front yard. Photos Provided by Vanessa Flynn
Image 2 Caption: As the hailstorm pelted the driveway, Felix Flynn could be seen in the distance on his tractor and rake trying to beat it to shelter. Photos Provided by Vanessa Flynn