Grapefruit-sized hailstones hit Australian town

A tropical north Australian town has been pounded by "record-breaking" hailstones the size of mangoes or grapefruit, with some shattering car windscreens.

The giant hailstones measured more than 16 centimetres (six inches) in diameter, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said Wednesday.

They hit Yalboroo when a storm swept through the small town about 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) north of Brisbane late Tuesday.

Social media images showed the icy monsters spilling out of people's hands, and huge hailstones were seen smashing down in front of a car in one video posted on Twitter.

"Yesterday's 16cm hail in Yalboroo, Queensland is a new Australian record," the Bureau of Meteorology tweeted.

"The atmosphere was extremely unstable, which allowed hail to continue growing before gravity forced it to the ground."

The previous record of 14 centimetres was set in southeast Queensland state in October 2020, the bureau added.

There were fresh warnings of severe thunderstorms along Australia's east coast on Wednesday, with reports of giant hailstones striking for a second day -- this time in the coastal town of Coffs Harbour, north of Sydney.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Seven killed in Indonesia landslide
Padang, Indonesia (AFP) Oct 1, 2021
Seven people were killed in a landslide triggered by torrential storms on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said, as they warned continuing rainfall could cause further ground movement on Friday. A day after the landslide hit two adjacent houses in Padang Pariaman district on Wednesday, seven bodies were pulled out of the mud, while another person was rescued alive with broken bones. "All victims have been found after we were able to use heavy equipment yesterday afternoon," local d ... read more