Extreme ‘golf ball-size’ hailstones carve 125-mile ‘scar’ in Canadian landscape — Earth from space
Rapid facts
Where is it? Brooks, southern Alberta, Canada [50.586757475, -112.12895463]
What is in the photo? A “scar” 125 miles long left by a destructive hailstorm storm
Which satellite took the photo? NASA Aqua satellite
When was it taken? August 24, 2025
This striking satellite image highlights the consequences of a large hailstorm in Alberta, Canada, which carved a giant “scar” in the landscape, about half of the Grand Canyon. The extreme event, which trampled on the ground with pieces of ice the size of a golf ball, killed at least two animals.
Although the storm produced a few thunderbolt, it sparked a serious hail and strong winds that damaged houses, vehicles and infrastructure. Some of the creases have reached a maximum diameter of 2 inches (5 centimeters), and the associated winds have reached speeds of more than 75 MPH (120 km / h) – equivalent to a category 1 hurricane, according to the The meteorological network.
In addition to damaged goods, the giant ice creams that fall hammered the ground and torn the vegetation. The result was a scar about 125 miles long (200 kilometers) and 9 miles (15 km) engraved through the landscape, which was clearly visible from space.
In relation: See all the best images of the land of space
The most affected area was around Brooks, a small town located about 100 miles (160 km) south-east of Calgary (visible at the top left of the satellite image). The combination of oversized hail and strong winds damaged local houses and vehicles, as well as the demolition of nearby power pylons, some of which were folded at an angle of almost 90 degrees, a Canadian media CBC reported.
“The whole house is destroyed,” a resident of Brooks, at CBC, told CBC. “The front fence was actually torn off from cemented poles. My flowers in my garden were launched, branches of the trees. There are hail damage everywhere in my truck which was only a year. The blanket of my boat was shredded.”
The strong winds also blown on a large fence on the Fun Barn White Barn farm, located west of Brooks, killing a Bactrian camel (Camelus Bactrianus) and a pony that were “best friends,” the owner of the farm at CBC told. One horse and several birds were also injured.
To watch
“Hailstorm Alley”
Although this event is extreme, it is not uncommon for such storms to appear in this part of Alberta, which is often nicknamed “HailStorm Alley”.
“The region’s climate and geography are conducive to the development of storms, and the region generally sees dozens of hailstones each year,” wrote the representatives of the Earth Observatory.
In the past five years, damage caused by hail in Alberta have totaled more than $ 6 billion Canadian dollars ($ 4.3 billion), excluding damages from the August storm, which should still be calculated, according to a recent report Enterprise insurance magazine.
Some of the people affected by the most recent storm were still recovering from a similar event in July.
NASA Langley Research Center researchers are now working on a way to better predict these damaging storms in advance, to help mitigate their impacts.
“With advanced identification techniques, we can quantify the distribution and frequency of severe storms with an exceptional level of consistency which is only granted by satellite measures”. Benjamin ScarrinoA researcher at the center said, told Earth Observator. “Long -term satellite data files allow us to provide the reinsurance industry, project partners and the research community A precious overview of the activity and the severe risks of storms.”
