The tropical north Australian town of Yalboroo was pounded with grapefruit-sized hailstones this week. The ice pellets smashed car windscreens. The pellets measured 16 cm in diameter, the Bureau of Meteorology reported.
Vehicles and buildings at an industrial site in the Gold Coast, Queensland were being pelted by hail on Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, a Reuters report reads.
Australia, in recent days, has been facing erratic weather. On Saturday, October 16, northern New South Wales was hit by a tornado.
Forecaster Dean Narramore from the Bureau of Meteorology told the ABC, that some people found it impressive that the pellets were taking up the whole hand.
Any hailstone measuring over 5 cm in diameter is defined as a giant hail, a rare phenomenon, which is formed under very specific environmental conditions. Some of these giant hailstones have reportedly smashed through roofs of tin sheds. Hailstones are formed when warm, moist air moves upwards and meets very cold, dry air to create giant rain droplets that freeze. While eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales are expected to face thunderstorms, no further hailstorms are expected.
