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SASKATOON - After a day spent watching the skies and hearing reports about severe weather watches and warnings, residents in the lower half of Saskatchewan finally saw what all of the fuss was about.

A slow-moving weather system, complete with funnel clouds, heavy rains, and hail battered southern Saskatchewan Saturday evening while making its way into Manitoba.

"If you were to look at a satellite picture it almost looks like a mini-hurricane aloft, centered over central Saskatchewan," Environment Canada meteorologist Mike Russo, said in an interview Saturday.

"I suspect that Manitoba will see similar conditions to what Saskatchewan saw today. Everything's kind of just shifting over one province for tomorrow (Sunday)."

One of the many reported funnel clouds briefly touched down southeast of Saskatoon.

But Russo said the storm's most menacing characteristic was the painstakingly slow speed at which it moved, giving it plenty of time to soak anything in its path. The airport in Saskatoon reported 40 millimetres of rain-enough to cause flooding in many parts of the city.

Saskatoon's public works department confirmed it was dealing with flooded roads, and local media reports said water running across roads and under overpasses made it impossible for vehicles to make it through.

The unfavourable driving conditions sent travellers scrambling for cover.

"Lots of families that were in RVs and stuff came in here," said Anna Mickler, a waitress at a Husky truck stop in Saskatoon.

She said one semi-truck driver pulled over and came into the restaurant after hail damaged his vehicle.

"One of the truckers came in here, and he was driving, and it smashed his window actually," Mickler said.

Russo had heard some public reports of golf ball-sized hail in Saskatoon but said the averaged confirmed size was around 10 millimetres, which is half the diameter required to be considered damaging by Environment Canada.

In Regina, the Saskatchewan Roughrider game against the Montreal Alouettes was delayed for nearly an hour due to rain.

Russo said the kind of system that caused this storm generally doesn't occur this late into the summer.

"This summer in the prairies, as you're probably well aware, has been a rather cool one," he said. "Because we've been in such a cool trend, a cool summer, it's lasting a lot longer."