Voomed

Insane Freak Hailstorm Hits Beachgoers In Siberia With Hailstones The Size Of Golf Balls

So there you are chilling on the beach in your swimwear, 'supping on a cold one and thinking about whether you need another dip in the water, when the heavens open up and start raining down hailstones the size of golf balls on you and your family. WTF?

This is the situation that happened to beach goers in Siberia (yeah, turns out they have beaches in Siberia, albeit a river beach) on Saturday 12 July in the city of Novosibirsk.

People were happily going about their beach business in sweltering temperatures of 99F (37C) relaxing by the Ob River.

inside beach before the storm

The city was going through a heat wave when suddenly in late afternoon dark clouds formed and the heaven's opened up.

inside dark beach

Beach goers were battered by frozen rain the size of golf balls and chicken eggs, as well as strong winds washing across the river.

inside people in the water

People came running out of the sea to seek shelter from the sudden and dramatic downpour.

information_items_1564

Run for your life!

inside one woman

Branches flew off trees as people shielded themselves anyway they could. Some suffered bruising from these "raining bullets."

inside one man with a flying branch

Most beachgoers were able to find protection from the hailstorm by ducking into nearby beach shacks or running under trees.

inside people hiding under trees

The epic hailstones battered people's belongings and turned the sea into a churning mass.

inside man under towel and people under umbrella

You can hear the intensity with which the hailstones fell in the video below.

Images: Ruslan Sokolov

via The Siberian Times

Related articles:

Tags: