Intense hailstorm pounds Medina, Saudi Arabia with huge stones, damaging cars and creating traffic chaos

Sott.net
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 07:44 UTC

© twitter (screen capture)

Large hail fell in Medina, Saudi Arabia on February 24, 2018

An intense storm produced large hailstones which damaged cars and caused travel chaos in Medina, Saudi Arabia on February 24, 2018 as reported by local media.

Images of damaged cars were shared on social media.

Last month a rare covering of snow blanketed parts of the desert country.

Earlier this month huge hailstones caused damage in Cordoba, Argentina, with one estimated to be up to 18 centimeters in diameter - 7.1 inches - at its largest width, which could be a record for the Southern Hemisphere.

Some other severe hailstorms from around the world during the last year include:

• Severe storm produces large hail accumulations in Mersin, Turkey
• Freak hailstorm wreaked havoc in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Intense hailstorm leaves hail accumulation of 50cm in Teruel, Spain
• Exceptional hailstorm hits Girona, Spain (VIDEOS)
• Freak summer hailstorm hits Istria, Croatia on the Adriatic Sea
• Snowballs in July? St. Petersburg covered with piles of 'snow' after heavy hailstorm
• Unusual hailstorm blankets Central Mexican city with up to 50 centimeters of ice
• Freak hailstorm rips through town in New South Wales, Australia
• Freak hailstorm hits drought stricken Bloemfontein, South Africa
• Mounds of hail pile up after storm pounds Safford, Arizona

It is likely that atmospheric dust loading from increased comet and volcanic activity is contributing to these 'intense' or 'freak' hailstorms, the cooling effect of which causes ice crystals to form.