In what circumstances will a driver be found to have failed to anticipate the consequences of a sudden, unforeseeable hail storm?

57 In Enns v. McConochie, supra, a vehicle went off the road in a sudden, severe, unforeseeable hail storm. The trial judge expressly found that the defendant driver should not have expected such a sudden change in driving conditions, and decided, upon an appreciation of all of the evidence, that the conduct of the driver should not be characterized as negligence. Unlike the case at bar, it was not a case of circumstantial evidence or of weighing probabilities as all the facts were known.

58 In Babich v. Maxwell, supra, there was a three vehicle collision in when the roadway was covered in snow. It is apparent from the report that one of the vehicles skidded to a stop on the wrong side of the road, and that another vehicle was unable to avoid colliding with it. The circumstances of the accident were fully established by evidence, and the trial judge was unable to characterize the conduct of any driver as negligent. Again, unlike the case at bar, it was not necessary for the trial judge to weigh probabilities or to consider circumstantial evidence on its own.