JUNE 13, 2020CALGARY HAILSTORM
Northeast Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County
- INSURED LOSS
- OVER $1.3 BILLION
- CLAIMS
- APPROXIMATELY 70,000
- HAIL
- TENNIS BALL AND GOLF BALL
What happened on June 13, 2020
On Saturday, June 13, 2020, around 7 p.m., a hail core crossed northeast Calgary with tennis-ball and golf-ball hail, winds up to 70 km/h and nearly 50 mm of rain in an hour, and hit Airdrie and Rocky View County as well. IBC now puts it at over $1.3 billion in insured damage from approximately 70,000 claims. It was Environment Canada's top weather story of 2020.
Environment Canada says the temperature fell 5 degrees in under six minutes, streets and intersections flooded, and hail drifts 10 cm deep stayed on highways into the next day. Deerfoot Trail flooded between 16th and 32nd Avenue NE and more than 10,000 people lost power. CBC named Taradale, Redstone and Saddle Ridge among the communities hit.
It held the record as Canada's costliest hailstorm until August 2024. The first estimate, in July 2020, was almost $1.2 billion. Note the area: this one hit the northeast, while 2021 hit the south and 2024 the north. Which storm damaged your roof depends heavily on where in the city you live.
June 13, 2020, in figures.
- Northeast Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County[5]
- Around 7 p.m. over northeast Calgary[3]
- Tennis ball and golf ball[3]
- Up to 70 km/h[3]
- 48.7 mm between 7 and 8 p.m.[4]
- over $1.3 billion (estimate as of August 2024)[1]First reported by IBC at almost $1.2 billion in July 2020.
- approximately 70,000[1]
- [1]IBC, August 2024: Insurers ready to help following destructive hailstorm in Alberta
- [2]IBC, July 2020: Insurers to pay a record $1.2 billion to Albertans recovering from Calgary hailstorm
- [3]Environment Canada: Top ten weather stories of 2020
- [4]CBC News, June 13, 2020: Thunderstorm hits Calgary
- [5]CBC News, July 8, 2020: Calgary hailstorm damage
Every figure on this page comes from the published sources above, not from us. Last checked against them on October 11, 2026. Insured-loss estimates are revised after a storm, sometimes for years, so treat any figure as an estimate.
What it means for your roof today
Hail damage can sit on a roof for years without a leak. A bruise can look like nothing from the street, and the longer it waits the harder it is to tell from ordinary wear. If you were in the area on June 13, 2020 and nobody has looked at your roof since, have it checked and keep the date with your notes.
In Alberta, the statutory conditions in a home policy require prompt written notice of a loss, and a court action over a property claim generally has to start within 2 years of when you knew or ought to have known about the damage. Your policy may set other time limits, such as a deadline to claim depreciation. That's general information, not legal advice: your policy wording governs, and your insurer or a lawyer can tell you where you stand.
Check your hail or wind deductible on your declarations page before you file. Filing is your decision. We inspect, photograph every slope and write the damage up against the storm date; you and your insurer handle the claim.
Signs of hail and water damage
This storm brought hail and heavy rain. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) lists these as the signs of hail on an asphalt shingle roof:
- A random pattern of marks across a slope, not a line or one cluster.
- Bruises: soft spots you can feel when pressing on the shingle, where the mat under the granules has fractured.
- Cracked or broken shingles, especially along the ridge caps.
- Dents on the metal: the top of the eavestrough, vent caps, fence caps and the air conditioner, on the side the storm came from.
- Chips, cracks or holes in siding and window screens, which often show before anything on the roof does.
- Water stains on ceilings or in the attic. Note where water came in: policies can treat water through the roof differently from water that came in at ground level.
Look from the ground, not from a ladder. What it looks like in photos is on our hail damage guide.
STRAIGHT ANSWERS.
Is it too late to claim damage from the June 13, 2020 storm?
It depends on your policy and on when you found the damage. Alberta's statutory conditions require prompt written notice of a loss, and a court action over a property claim generally has to start within 2 years of when you knew or ought to have known about the damage. If you've only just found damage from this storm, report it now and ask your insurer what it needs. This is general information, not legal advice.
How do I show the damage came from this storm and not from age?
Hail leaves a recognisable pattern: random impacts, granule loss at the strike points and bruising you can feel, plus dents on the soft metals, which reads differently from even weathering. A report that photographs that pattern slope by slope, with scale references, and reasons from it to a dated storm is what ties damage to a date of loss. An assertion without that reasoning is not documentation.
My roof was replaced after this storm. Should I still get it looked at?
It can be worth it. Vents, flashing, skylights, eavestrough and siding take hail on their own, and they can be left out of a roof-only scope. If anything on the house wasn't replaced, it's worth a look.
Why did the estimate for the June 13, 2020 storm change?
First reported by IBC at almost $1.2 billion in July 2020. The latest figure is over $1.3 billion, published August 2024. Insured-loss estimates are revised as claims are counted and closed, so an early number is rarely the final one.
WAS YOUR ROOFIN ONE OF THESE?
Tell us the storm date and your address. We'll document what's actually on the roof.