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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFreak summer hailstorm buries Guadalajara, Mexico, in up to 5 feet of ice - incredible photos
What the hail?
One of Mexicos most populous cities got hit with a freak summer hailstorm on Sunday, burying dozens of cars and damaging hundreds of homes.
The city had been enjoying balmy temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) before the sudden storm pelted the city of around 5 million people with hail frozen precipitation that forms balls or irregular lumps of ice that piled between three to five feet in some places, according to varying reports.
Authorities told the BBC that 200 homes were damaged and at least 50 vehicles were swept away in the city and surrounding districts. No casualties were reported.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/freak-summer-hailstorm-buries-guadalajara-mexico-in-up-to-5-feet-of-ice-see-the-incredible-photos-2019-07-01?mod=hp_minor_pos21
malaise
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(65,319 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,844 posts)Hekate
(90,643 posts)Javaman
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(22,112 posts)demmiblue
(36,841 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,416 posts)demmiblue
(36,841 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,416 posts)ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)FakeNoose
(32,630 posts)People are starting to believe in climate change now, at least in Guadalajara they believe.
AllaN01Bear
(18,151 posts)eep.
Pisces
(5,599 posts)Cataclysmic disaster,
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)But climate change is all a big hoax.
Hekate
(90,643 posts)Response to Ohiogal (Original post)
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Brother Buzz
(36,416 posts)July 1, 2019
Soaring temperatures, high elevation and a slew of other ingredients all collided to create the freak hail storm that hit Guadalajara, experts said on Monday.
Residents of Mexicos second-largest city woke up in shock Sunday to find that nearly 5 feet of hail had accumulated in some areas, trapping cars and damaging hundreds of homes.
Ive never seen such scenes in Guadalajara, Jalisco Gov. Enrique Alfaro told Agence France-Presse. These are never-before-seen natural phenomenons. Its incredible.
Hail usually occurs during thunderstorms when updrafts carry warm, moist air above the freezing level, condensing it. A hailstone grows as additional water freezes onto it, and eventually becomes too heavy and falls to the ground.
In Guadalajara, which has temperatures nearing 90 in June, more moisture is available, contributing to hailstorms.
The city is situated at 5,000 feet above sea level, and higher elevation means you are closer to the freezing level, so its more common to see hail, said Accuweather meteorologist James Andrews.
Whats special about this, is the intensity of the storm and the huge amount of hail that it brought, he said. Its staggering.
In Sundays case, the storm occurred in the early morning, when it was about 60 degrees, and the hail core sat above the same spot for a significant amount of time, Andrews said.
If you have intense hail falling along with rain and its happening in the same place for an extended length of time, youre going to get tremendous runoff.
A combination of water and hail moved downslope, because of the local topography, and obstacles, like buildings, likely blocked the flow of hail, allowing more ice to accumulate on top.
Hail depth from the storm [alone] couldnt have been that strong, Andrews said. That great depth could be accounted for that the hail was running off street like in a flash flood and accumulated in a low spot.
It may have just been a freaky coincidence of the local layout, Andrews said.
https://nypost.com/2019/07/01/this-is-what-caused-the-freak-guadalajara-hail-storm/