Freak hailstorm buries major Mexico city under FIVE FEET of ice – as California bakes in 38C
A FREAK hailstorm has buried a major city in Mexico under 5ft of ice – leaving dozens of drivers trapped and damaging buildings.
Roads were completely blocked after hail and heavy rain bombarded Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state in western Mexico on Sunday.
Piles of hail reached as high as 1.5 metres or 5ft in some places, with Rancho Blanco and the Industrial Zone the worst affected areas.
Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez said he had “never seen” such a heavy blitz of hail in the area before.
“I went there to evaluate the situation and I witnessed scenes which I had never seen before: hail accumulation more than a meter high, and then we wonder if climate change exists,” he said.
Some streets were transformed into rivers of dense moving hail and several people had to be rescued from the roofs of their cars.
Numerous cars were damaged after being buried under the piles of hail.
But officials said there were no reports of any injuries or deaths.
‘UNPRECEDENTED’ HAILSTORM
Emergency workers and city employees, with assistance from the army, worked throughout the night and morning to clear the city road.
Several residents said Sunday’s hailstorm was “unprecedented” in the region.
The hail hit as a new tropical storm formed far off Mexico’s southern coast.
The US National Hurricane Center says it’s likely to reach hurricane strength, though without threatening land.
Tropical Storm Barbara was centered about 850 miles (1,370 kilometers) south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula on Sunday.
It is heading to the west-northwest into the open Pacific Ocean at a relatively brisk 16 mph).
The Hurricane Center says the storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, but it’s expected to become a hurricane by Tuesday.
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As Mexico is bombarded with wild weather, nearby California is baking in highs of 38C or 100F.
It’s so hot that mussels are cooking inside of their shells as they sit in low tides at the Bodega Bar in northern California.