Storm rips roof off garage in western Manitoba

A storm that blew through western Manitoba on Sunday left significant damage in its wake.

One hard-hit area is Foxwarren, located approximately 150 kilometres northwest of Brandon. Winds were so strong it tore the roof off of Robin Scantlebury’s garage.

“We just all of a sudden saw my couch and all of my patio furniture go off the deck, and then my husband saw part of the roof go flying,” Scantlebury told CTV News, adding she and her family had barbecued supper that night and were sitting down to eat when the winds picked up.

“So that was when he said, 'let’s get down to the basement,’ and we went down there and hung out until the storm was over."

Parts of western Manitoba, including Foxwarren, were under a tornado watch Sunday afternoon. The area of Swan River - Duck Mountain - Porcupine Provincial Forest was briefly placed under a tornado warning Sunday. Environment and Climate Change Canada said, at the time, a severe thunderstorm in the area had potential to produce a tornado, damaging winds and large hail.

Scantlebury said the storm only lasted about fifteen minutes but it felt more like an hour. Her kitchen ceiling is now leaking and bowing from the damage.

With no power or water to the house, Scantlebury said their family has been staying in their camper, which did not make it through the storm unscathed, as its back window was also damaged.

Manitoba Hydro said the storm knocked out power for more than 4,200 customers in Foxwarren, Binscarth, Waywayseecappo, Rossburn, St. Lazare, Roblin, Greenway and Angusville.

"Strong winds, heavy rain and lightning hit the region late yesterday afternoon, bringing down trees and causing several outages in a wide area," Bruce Owen, a media relations officer with Manitoba Hydro told CTV News in an email.

Owen said for about 1,800 people the power was back on two hours later and crews worked through the night to restore service for the rest of those affected.

In total, Owen said 11 poles need to be replaced and several lines were brought down due to fallen trees. He said Manitoba Hydro had to call in extra staff to help local crews get the lights back on.

As of Monday afternoon, Manitoba Hydro said 493 customers were still without power.