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The storm that pummelled Eston in west-central Saskatchewan provided a scary greeting for a family that just moved in just 24 hours earlier.

Nicole McCormac and three-year-old daughter Sadie arrived in town Saturday from Saskatoon to join Nicole’s husband Evan, who has worked in Eston for more than one year. The family spent a pleasant Sunday unpacking and then barbecued outside. Shortly after supper, they heard thunder in the sky, Nicole said, so the family went inside their house on Main Street.

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“It started pouring, like pouring pouring,” she said on Monday.

They thought nothing of it, though, and simply closed the windows. Then “a wind came out of nowhere, and started blowing stuff, and it downpoured hail. You couldn’t even see across the street.”

Residents were advised by RCMP to seek shelter in order to protect themselves from flying debris. Barricades were put in place for several blocks. After 10 to 15 minutes of wind and hail, “it calmed right down,” Nicole McCormac said, but they saw “car after car after car after car driving down Main Street.” Nicole and Evan drove around and took in all the damage, including the southwest corner of town by the airport, which “got it really bad.”