Several areas in Bengaluru witnessed a hailstorm on Friday afternoon. Neighbourhoods like Whitefield and KR Puram witnessed hail stones raining down upon them even as temperatures hit a maximum of 34C during the day.
Many took to Twitter – posting pictures of the hail stones during the day.
Hail storm in Whitefield Bangalore pic.twitter.com/0iZ8gM39UI
— Nandita / saffrontrail.com (@saffrontrail) March 30, 2018
Caught in hailstorm. Scary shit! #Bangalore pic.twitter.com/L1gvgP3HE0
— Anuradha (@anuradha_kush) March 30, 2018
Hail stone rainfall @WatersCorp Bengaluru
— Divya (@Divyanagaraja2) March 30, 2018
Fun@Work!! pic.twitter.com/MsNN7m9l0E
Hailstorm and insane rains in North West #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/RDAfdtMgE6
— Bengaluru Weather (@BngWeather) March 30, 2018
Others pointed out the fluctuation in the city’s weather – going from hot and humid to intense hail storms.
From super hot to windy to hail in under an hour. This is Bangalore for you pic.twitter.com/z1WcDep3Xb
— monika (@monikamanchanda) March 30, 2018
What happened to the #Bangalore #Weather. Heavy downpour all of a sudden . #Hail in #KRPuram.
— Neel Padmanabhan (@maheshneel) March 30, 2018
Subha Avinash, a project scientist at Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSDMC) told TNM that a sudden drop in temperature can cause hailstorms. She also forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in parts of Bengaluru. "Depending on the temperature drop, every 15 minutes when you have the threshold is fixed, a sudden variation of more than 4 to 5 degree. depending on that we can know that there will be a hailstorm activity. There are heavy rain events happening in rural and north Bengaluru. Bengaluru is cloudy, and in one hour we are expecting rain. we are expecting moderate to heavy rains," Subha said.
Speaking to TNM, Srikanth a weather blogger at Chennayil Oru Mazhaikkaalam observed that hailstorms are normal during this time of the year. “Winds from different directions are meeting plus the day time heating creates unstable atmospheric conditions triggering thunderstorms,” he explained.
Hail is a form of precipitation that freezes drops of water in the cold upper regions of thunderstorm clouds, states National Geographic. Measuring between 5mm and 15cm in diameter, hail stones can be round or jagged.
“Hailstones are formed by layers of water attaching and freezing in a large cloud. A frozen droplet begins to fall from a cloud during a storm, but is pushed back up into the cloud by a strong updraft of wind. When the hailstone is lifted, it hits liquid water droplets. Those droplets then freeze to the hailstone, adding another layer to it. The hailstone eventually falls to Earth when it becomes too heavy to remain in the cloud, or when the updraft stops or slows down,” states National Geographic.
Hail can cause damage to cars, building and crops. It is advisable for people to remain indoors during a hailstorm.
Meanwhile, areas like Mahadevapura and Bagalakunte recorded heavy rainfall. According to KSDMC, Mahadevapura recorded 50mm between 4pm and 4.15pm on Friday, while Bagalakunte received 60mm between 3.45pm and 4pm.