Campers hurt as thunderstorm downs trees in South Slave

Hay River and Enterprise were hit by a severe thunderstorm on Monday morning, reportedly injuring several people as trees hit their campsites.

The storm struck the South Slave between 9am and 11am as it moved north at 60 km/h. A severe storm warning for the area ended at 11:08am, and a separate storm watch for Yellowknife ended just after 3pm.

There was at least one confirmed injury: a woman broke her arm when a camper van was hit by a falling tree, one of her friends told Cabin Radio.

Several others were said to have required treatment.

A map shows lightning strikes over Great Slave Lake on Monday morning. Red dots are the most recent (past three hours), followed by yellow, blue, and white. To view the map yourself, click here then select lightning from the menu in the top right of your screen.

At the Louise Falls campground, south of Enterprise, Ingrid St-Cyr told Cabin Radio a “huge storm rolled over us.”

St-Cyr said trees had been “flattened in minutes” during an intense period of thunder, lightning, and hail. Pouring rain continued after the worst of the storm had passed.

A clean-up operation at the campground was understood to have begun by Monday afternoon.

A tree struck a campsite at Louise Falls, south of Enterprise. Photo: Submitted

Ingrid St-Cyr submitted these photos showing trees down at the Louise Falls territorial campground.

Monday’s storm seen from Hay River Territorial Campground. Photo: Jane Arychuk