© India Express
While the hailstorm was particularly intense over the weekend, parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada had also reported thunderstorms since Monday.
Some parts of rural Maharashtra woke up to a white blanket this morning,
with an unusual spell of hailstorms. The unusual spell of hailstorm and heavy rainfall that started early this morning has claimed two lives in Maharashtra. The gusty winds and hailstorm have also destroyed standing crops of wheat, grapes and chickpea in Jaalna, Beed, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati and Akola districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.
Not just that,
the heavy rainfall has destroyed most of the winter crop that was ready to be harvested.
On February 7, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an advisory stating the possibility of hailstorm in parts of Maharashtra. However, the MET officials stated that this was just an advisory issued at a very primary stage but not a warning.
Taking a serious note based on the advisory issued by MET, the state government on Saturday(February 10) had warned the farmers to be prepared for a hailstorm.
Comment: The list goes on and on:
- Moscow buried in heaviest late January snowfall in 50 years (PHOTOS)
- Over a meter of snow in 72 hours for the Alps - Big falls in the Dolomites and Pyrenees too
- 13,000 tourists trapped at ski resort in Switzerland after heavy snowfall (3.5 feet in 24 hours) blocks all roads and train line
- Unusual hailstorm kills 2 and damages crops in India
- Record snow covers Houston and Texas - UPDATE (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
- Storm hits South Iceland with windspeeds up to 50 m/s (111 miles per hour)
- Great Lakes are now 69.1% ice covered, for only 2nd time in last 24 years
- Heavy snowfall continues to cripple life in northern parts of Pakistan (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
These past few months have proved to be particularly brutal, and there are no signs of it letting up just yet; its also in line with scientists predictions of what we can expect in the years ahead: