August 25, 2026: Loonie-Size Hail Watch for Fort Frances, Dryden, and Sioux Lookout

After an active July, the second half of August 2026 was a quiet one for roofs across Northwestern Ontario. Thunder Bay did not see a single day with a gust over 60 km/h or more than 25 mm of rain, and no severe weather warnings were issued for the city. The one event worth putting on the record came on Tuesday, August 25, and it was in the west of the region.

What Environment Canada issued

Early on August 25, Environment Canada placed three forecast areas under a severe thunderstorm watch: Fort Frances, Emo, and Rainy River; Dryden and Vermilion Bay; and Sioux Lookout and eastern Lac Seul. The watch called for wind gusts approaching 90 km/h, hail as large as a loonie, and heavy downpours. A pre-dawn storm was already sitting over Sioux Lookout when the watches went up, cutting visibility to 5 km in rain at 5:16 a.m. Kenora, Red Lake, and Pickle Lake were in the forecast risk area without a formal watch (NetNewsLedger).

Thunder Bay had no alerts in effect that morning and finished the day with 5.7 mm of rain at the Thunder Bay CS station. The next day’s regional bulletin referred only to “Tuesday’s thunderstorms and showers.” No damage, rainfall totals, or Hydro One outage figures were published for any of the watch areas (NetNewsLedger, August 26).

Why a watch with no damage still goes in the log

A watch is a forecast, not a confirmed event, and we label it that way on the tracker. We still record it, for two reasons.

First, loonie-size hail is right at the threshold where asphalt shingles start to bruise. A loonie is about 26 mm across. Hail at that size knocks granules off and bruises the mat underneath, and the bruise weathers into a crack a season or two later. Nobody files a news story about a bruised shingle. The homeowner finds out in the spring when the attic insulation is wet.

Second, insurance claims are built on dates. If a roof in Dryden or Sioux Lookout starts leaking this winter and the adjuster asks when the damage happened, a dated Environment Canada watch with a source link is a far better answer than “sometime last summer.” The Northwestern Ontario Storm Damage Tracker exists so that answer is always there.

If you were under the watch: a five-minute check

You do not need to get on the roof. Hail leaves its clearest evidence on soft metal at ground level:

1. Look at eavestroughs, downspouts, and the drip edge for small round dents. If the aluminum took hits, the shingles did too.
2. Check roof vents, the mailbox, and the barbecue lid. Same idea. Dents on painted or thin metal date the hail.
3. Look for granules at the bottom of downspouts or in the eavestrough. A sudden pile after one storm means the shingles were scoured.
4. Take dated photos of anything you find, even if it looks minor. The first 48 hours guide covers what to document and in what order.

If a check turns something up, or if you would rather have a second set of eyes before the snow load arrives, get in touch. We inspect, we document what we find in writing, and we tell you honestly whether it needs work.