The Mexican city of Guadalajara has been blanketed in a carpet of ice up to 1.5 metres thick in parts after experiencing a freak hailstorm.
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The city of five million people, currently in the midst of summer by the grace of it being in the northern hemisphere, woke up on Sunday morning to find that their week of hot summery days had been punctuated by a huge hailstorm that rolled in overnight. According to The Guardian, at least six neighbourhoods in the city saw up to two metres of ice build up after the storm.
Agence France-Presse reported that the state governor, Enrique Alfaro, described the storm as completely out of the ordinary: “Then we ask ourselves if climate change is real. These are never-before-seen natural phenomena.” Alfaro initially tweeted that there had been no reports of death or injury, authorities reported two people showing early signs of hypothermia, The Guardian reported.
Luego de una inusual granizada en distintas colonias del Área Metropolitana de Guadalajara, principalmente en Rancho Blanco y en la Zona Industrial, personal de Protección Civil Jalisco atendió la situación desde la madrugada. pic.twitter.com/EZ0XQhhIW6
— Enrique Alfaro (@EnriqueAlfaroR) June 30, 2019
Approximately 200 homes and businesses reported hail damage, with around 50 vehicles swept away by the build-up of ice pellets, according to The Guardian.
Source: EPA.
