Hail at Cleland Wildlife Park near Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills.
© Cleland Wildlife ParkHail at Cleland Wildlife Park near Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills.
Hail and heavy rain has hit the outskirts of Adelaide, closing the main road to the Adelaide Hills and whitening backyards across the city.

The State Emergency Service (SES) has had more than 60 call-outs, mostly in the Adelaide Hills, including to a baby and mother stuck in a car in rising floodwaters at Oakbank.

Fortunately, the water had receded by the time crews arrived and the pair had been removed without incident.

Jon Carr from the SES said the largest number of calls were around the Onkaparinga Valley Road in Balhannah, Verdun and Oakbank.

Several roads are flooded in the area and at Hahndorf.


He said the service was expecting more calls when people arrived home between 5:00pm and 6:00pm.

"What we'd be saying to people up there if they have put in a call to the SES [is] to just be patient, because we'll get to all of those jobs but we are flat out in that particular area at the moment," he said.

Almost 40 millimetres of rain hit Crafers West in an hour from about 1:00pm, with hail temporarily closing the hills-bound track of South Eastern Freeway.

Cars drive carefully after heavy hail on South Eastern Freeway.
© Ruth Taylor-HullCars drive carefully after heavy hail on South Eastern Freeway.
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport said there was ice on the road between the Heysen Tunnels and Crafers.

Diversions were set up for outbound traffic, but the road has since reopened.

However, speeds remain reduced in both directions between Stirling and the tollgate due to the weather, while a vehicle breakdown in the left-hand lane before Crafers is also slowing traffic.

Hail on the roof of a house at Norton Summit in the Adelaide Hills.
© Dennis HooijmaijersHail on the roof of a house at Norton Summit in the Adelaide Hills.
Heavy delays are expected.

Utopia @ Waterfall Gully cafe owner Kelly Markos posted a video online of hail pelting outdoor seating.

"It was just a perfect morning and then it got dark and then the hail just started tumbling down and we're talking huge hailstones — we're talking soft drink lids," she said.

"They were absolutely pounding down and went for a good half an hour non-stop."


She said the whole area near Waterfall Gully was white.

"It was nuts — I've never seen anything like it," she said.

John Fisher from the Bureau of Meteorology's Adelaide office said the rain and hail was mainly affecting the Mount Lofty Ranges, from near Adelaide to as far north as Burra.

"But these thunderstorms are continuing to develop, so other places could certainly see some issues as the afternoon goes on," he said.

Mr Fisher said flash flooding was possible.

"While the images we've seen so far haven't been large hail — the type that might dent your car or cause too much damage — but when you get lots of this small hail accumulating, it tends to block up gutters and exacerbate those flood risks," he said.

More rain is forecast on Thursday and Friday in Adelaide.