While it hit hard and fast, surprising residents and leaving a mess in it's wake, the storm that struck Airdrie and Rocky View County on Saturday, July 30, was not abnormal.

With the weather conditions present at the end of July and early August, it makes for the perfect 'recipe' for a thunderstorm such as the one experienced recently.

Alyssa Charbonneau, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Alberta is the ideal location for hail.

"Large hail, that's a really preferred region in the country for those types of storms to develop and to get damaging hail. We also see that July is one of the most common times that you would have some of the more severe hail events happening in Alberta."

Charbonneau did confirm that Airdrie and parts of Rocky View County received hail the size of golf balls, which left significant damages to vehicles, vegetation, and crops.

A local business in Airdrie, Windgate by Wyndham, which is a new hotel in the city, had two of it's windows broken by the storm.

"The hotel was full. The guests that did get the damage to their rooms called down immediately. There were also a number of guests that were doing a little bit of scrambling as their vehicles did get damaged," said Chris Vautour, manager of the Windgate by Wyndham.

The hotel has since had the windows fixed.

While storms of that caliber may be common in Alberta this time of year, Charbonneau added that safety needs to be kept in mind.

"What you want to be trying to do is seek shelter. Get inside, get somewhere safe when you hear a thunderstorm coming into your area. If you're going out somewhere, make sure you're able to get regular updates as warnings are issued."

Lightning also poses a threat to humans and animals out in storms, although Charbonneau said it isn't something that is taken as seriously as it should be.

"Lightning is always a danger and sometimes we don't take it as seriously as we should. Even if you're not seeing hail or strong winds, if you're seeing lightning, you should be taking cover and make sure you stay indoors until the storm has passed."