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Nathan and Renita Dawe managed to make it through their wedding ceremony Sunday before stormy weather forced everyone to take cover in the farmyard shop.
The couple hosted the ceremony at a farm south of Glen Ewen, east of Estevan, an area that was under tornado and rainfall warnings.
“Leading up to it, I was so stressed,” Renita said. “But the day of, we made it through the ceremony, the pictures, that was all we needed, and then it could rain. It was fine.”
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Starr Mercer, the wedding photographer, was able to usher everyone out to the hills for a few photos before the storm hit.
“As we were finishing up family photos, the skies turned pretty dark, and you could see that the clouds were moving in,” she said.
Starr Mercer, an Oxbow based photographer, said she kept her eyes glued to the radar profile while taking cover in the shop. (Starr Mercer/ Submitted)
Nathan said he briefly lost his cowboy hat in the wind but was impressed with the picture-perfect moment.
“They’re so cool with the clouds in the background,” he laughed.
About 15 people attended the ceremony and were all able to fit their vehicles into the machinery shop to avoid damage from hail.
Mercer said the group was storm-stayed in the shop for 45 minutes because the downpour was so severe.
It took Mercer a few extra hours to return to her Oxbow home, but she’s pleased the couple could have unique photos from their wedding day.
Meteorologist Chris Stammers said the unsettled conditions are being driven by a strong low-pressure system and a cold front crossing central and southern Saskatchewan. (Ivan_Andreevich/Depositphotos.com)
“I was able to get some pretty stunning and moody photos of them on their wedding day with that intense weather,” she said.
The Dawes are hoping for better weather for their reception in October.
“It was a very memorable wedding day for sure,” she said.
Oxbow hit with heavy downpours and hail in weekend storm
James Fonstad said the worst of the weekend’s stormy weather hit Friday morning, with heavy rain and hail.
“We heard the heavy rain coming, and we opened the door to check it out, and it was getting louder and louder,” said the Oxbow man. “All of a sudden it turned to hail.”
He said it lasted around 20 minutes, with nickel-sized hail completely covering the ground.
“It was completely white, and it was very, very cold. Felt like winter.”
James Fonstad said the hood and roof of his truck are left dented after hail hit down in Oxbow on Friday, August 28. (Supplied: James Fonstad)
The hail caused damage to the roof and hood of Fonstad’s truck, as well as the tunnel cover of the truck box.
“We were just hoping it (the hail) wasn’t going to get any bigger, of course, and we thought we’d be damage-free, but in the end, we were not.”
He also said a lot of gardens were damaged and leaves were shredded from the trees.
“The rain and the hail were washing down the streets, rivers, and the storm sewers could not keep up.”
James Fonstad said the tunnel cover on his truck is left dented after the hail storm on Friday, August 28. (Supplied: James Fonstad)
Another storm rolled through Sunday afternoon, with a trio of tornado warnings in the area, rain and more hail in the Oxbow area.
Fonstad said Monday morning that the streets were flooding during the downpours.
“Everything is back to normal now. Some highway ditches and stuff are still full (of water), but everything has kind of calmed down now again.”
—With files from 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink
