Despite high temperatures dominating the start of the summer, people in Guadalajara, Mexico woke up Sunday to an icy existence.
A bizarre hailstorm left the city buried in up to six feet of ice.
Guadalajara, the capital city of Jalisco with a population of almost 1.5 million people, saw at least six of its neighborhoods on the outskirts blanketed in the massive hail accumulation Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported.
This is another loop of satellite images of the sever #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, #Mexico. #LluviaZMG pic.twitter.com/iID6lVb1hJ
— Humberto Peralta (@SciWorld) June 30, 2019
Authorities say more than 450 homes were affected by the heavy hail, including some where the ice pushed through doors and windows, according to the local El Informador newspaper.
Nearly five feet of hail blankets Guadalajara, @GavinoGaray reports pic.twitter.com/gZP4mYxDTg
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 1, 2019
Residents in the mountainous area, which sits about 350 miles west of Mexico City, reported damage to some 50 vehicles that were swept away by the heavy ice and rain.
My city Guadalajara, Jalisco had its first big hailing storm last night and I've never seen such rarity, and it rains like hell over there. Thats 39.8 inches of hail. 1 meter and a half. Can yall see how trapped these trailers are????
— dani (@DanielaLomle) June 30, 2019
Video credits to my father: pic.twitter.com/JPfjQVm699
Enrique Alfaro Ramirez, the governor of the Jalisco state, posted on Twitter he’d never witnessed scenes like those he saw Sunday morning.
“Then we ask ourselves if climate change is real. These are never-before-seen natural phenomenons,” he said. “It’s incredible.”
??❄ Parts of #Guadalajara, Mexico remain buried under two metres of #hail after a freak storm blasted the city on Sunday.
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) July 1, 2019
"These are never-before-seen natural phenomena," said state governor Enrique Alfaro. "Then we ask ourselves if #climatechange is real... it's incredible." pic.twitter.com/W8XT5fVQqu
According to AFP, although hailstorms aren’t uncommon in the summer in Jalisco, nothing of this magnitude had been recorded. Guadalajara is northwest of Mexico City and is about 5,000 feet above sea level.
Muy temprano, antes de ir a la CDMX para el arranque de la Guardia Nacional, estuve en el lugar para evaluar la situación y fui testigo de escenas que nunca había visto: el granizo a más de un metro de altura, y luego nos preguntamos si el cambio climático existe. pic.twitter.com/cognB1JHg6
— Enrique Alfaro (@EnriqueAlfaroR) June 30, 2019
While no casualties were reported, two people showed “early signs of hypothermia,” the state Civil Protection office said in a statement.
The city of Guadalajara woke up to find its streets buried under hail pellets, days after basking in 31°C (88°F) weather.
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) July 1, 2019
“Then we ask ourselves if climate change is real," said state governor Enrique Alfaro pic.twitter.com/EDsnv17y8a
On Monday, residents of San Miguel de Allende, a high desert community popular with American tourists, awoke to several inches of hail clogging city streets, the Associated Press reported.
