Freak summer hailstorm buries Mexican city under five feet of ice

01/07/19
Author: 
Katie Mettler

July 1, 2019 - It’s summer in Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s most populous towns, which made what happened there over the weekend all the more surprising.

Sunday morning, residents woke to their roads, yards and even cars buried under more than three feet of icy slush from a freak hailstorm that had blanketed the city.


Residents play on top of ice after a heavy storm of rain and hail that affected some areas of ​​Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 30. (Fernando Carranza/Reuters)

On Twitter, Jalisco Gov. Enrique Alfaro said Civil Protection personnel quickly began cleanup, digging vehicles out from beneath the sea of hail and pumping out floodwaters once it had started to melt.

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Enrique Alfaro✔@EnriqueAlfaroR

Luego de una inusual granizada en distintas colonias del Área Metropolitana de Guadalajara, principalmente en Rancho Blanco y en la Zona Industrial, personal de Protección Civil Jalisco atendió la situación desde la madrugada.

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10:33 AM - Jun 30, 2019

“I’ve never seen such scenes in Guadalajara,” Alfaro told AFP.

“Then we ask ourselves if climate change is real. These are never-before-seen natural phenomenons,” he said. “It’s incredible.”

In some places, the hail was up to five feet deep, AFP reported.

Residents in the mountainous area, which sits about 350 miles west of Mexico City, reported damage to nearly 200 homes and businesses, according to AFP, and some 50 vehicles were swept away by the heavy ice and rain. No injuries or casualties were reported, Alfaro said.


A man with a bike walks on hail in the eastern area of Guadalajara on June 30. (Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images)


Vehicles buried in hail are seen in the streets. (Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images)


A policeman stands next to vehicles buried in hail. (Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images)


Residents play on top of the ice. (Fernando Carranza/Reuters)


People stand on the sidewalk of a street. (Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images)


Trucks are buried in ice. (Fernando Carranza/Reuters)


Security forces and soldiers try to clear away ice after the storm. (Fernando Carranza/Reuters)

 

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