Trail of destruction in Brooks, Alta., after golf ball-sized hailstorm rips through

What started as a warm, sunny day in Brooks, Alta., on Wednesday quickly took a turn when a nasty hailstorm ripped through, crumpling and knocking over power lines and damaging cars, homes and crops.

"All of a sudden, the winds came up, and it came in quick," said Brooks Mayor John Petrie.

He said he watched from inside his house as "golf ball-sized" hail rained down, shredding leaves and perforating the siding on some of his neighbours' homes in the city that's about 160 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

Colleen Foisy said the hail sounded like gunshots as it hit her home in Brooks, calling the storm unlike anything she has seen in the 18 years she has lived there.

"The whole front of the house is destroyed," said Foisy. "The

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