Storm leaves city looking like dead of winter in middle of summer
An unusual storm system unleashed a freakishly large amount of hail, up to five feet in some places, Sunday, June 30, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Crews were left digging out stranded vehicles in a surreal wintry scene.
The Mexican city of Guadalajara woke up to a wintry surprise on Sunday morning. The city, which has been experiencing a hot, sweaty summer, was blanketed with up to 3 feet of ice in some areas following a heavy hailstorm.
Astonishing photos have appeared on the internet of what appears to be a winter display in the city, which is located in the western part of the country, about six hours west of Mexico City. Cars were almost covered entirely with ice and children were captured lying in the hailstones making snow angels.
On Sunday, local government officials scrambled to contain the damage and clear up the roads. The state of Jalisco, where Guadalajara is the capital city, worked with the Mexican Army and surrounding municipal authorities to remove the hail from public roads and help those whose homes were impacted.
In a tweet, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramirez said "I witnessed scenes that I had never seen before" after surveying the results of the extreme weather on Sunday morning, and attributed the freak amount of hail to the effects of climate change. He added on Twitter, "Hail more than a meter high, and then we wonder if climate change exists."
No injuries or deaths were reported from the storms, Ramirez said.
Hailstorms are not uncommon in Guadalajara. However, the storm unleashed a historic amount of hail on the city, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Eric Leister.
"Thunderstorms are common from June to September in the city and surrounding area as increasing tropical moisture aids in thunderstorm development across the higher elevations of western Mexico," Leister said.
The storm occurred early Sunday morning, when the temperature was around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Flash flooding also occurred during the thunderstorm, which likely carried the accumulated hail, causing it to build up into massive piles.
On Sunday afternoon, parts of Guadalajara were hit by a second hailstorm, further adding to the problem.
Over the next few days, afternoon highs will be in the 80s.
"The warm air and sunshine will combine to melt what is left of the hail, but since much of it was being removed in trucks before melting, flooding from the melt is unlikely," Leister said.
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