Monday, July 1st 2019, 1:39 pm - The region is familiar with extreme weather, but this event was particularly unusual
While temperatures are usually in the high 20s and low 30s during this time of year in Guadalajara, an unusual storm brought a shocking surprise - over 1.5 metres of ice was dumped on the region after a severe hailstorm tracked through on June 29.
Footage shows trucks attempting to drive through the roads swallowed by ice, and many drivers had to abandon their vehicles when they could no longer break through the thick hail.
My dad sent me these photos of Guadalajara , Mexico. 3 feet of hail, he says. Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/0IinwGvKWB
My dad sent me these photos of Guadalajara , Mexico. 3 feet of hail, he says. Unbelievable! Parker Branton on Twitter: "My dad sent me these photos of Guadalajara , Mexico. 3 feet of hail, he says. Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/0IinwGvKWB / Twitter"
— Parker Branton (@ParkerBranton) Parker Branton on Twitter: "My dad sent me these photos of Guadalajara , Mexico. 3 feet of hail, he says. Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/0IinwGvKWB / Twitter"
The government has stated that the Mexican Army is assisting with relief efforts and the mayor has stated that citizens whose homes have been affected will receive support.
Weather Network meteorologist Nadine Powell says that hail is not common in tropical climates, especially to this extent. She explains that a number of atmospheric conditions resulted in this extreme weather event including high CAPE (convective available potential energy) values, which is essentially the amount of energy in the atmosphere that is available for storms to develop, grow, and maintain themselves.
"Typically, the higher the CAPE value, the better the potential for stronger storms and bigger hail. Conditions aloft would have also needed to be colder than normal, and the environment would have had to maintain itself for a considerable length of time to produce such a prolific amount of hail," says Powell.
How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE
How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter" in WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter", Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter" WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter" WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter" WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter"
— WEATHER/ METEO WORLD (@StormchaserUKEU) WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "How do you fancy a toilet hail geyser ??! This was during the severe #hailstorm in #Guadalajara, Mexico this morning 30th of June Photo by 📸 Simcha Nazir via Red Climatica Mundial #severeweather #ExtremeWeather #Mexico pic.twitter.com/vLyNyYU9gE / Twitter"
Here's a close up of the #hail accumulations in Guadalajara, #Mexico! Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/JJKg8cpJZD
Here’s a close up of the Ms.T on Twitter: "Here's a close up of the #hail accumulations in Guadalajara, #Mexico! Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/JJKg8cpJZD / Twitter" accumulations in Guadalajara, Ms.T on Twitter: "Here's a close up of the #hail accumulations in Guadalajara, #Mexico! Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/JJKg8cpJZD / Twitter"! Unbelievable! Ms.T on Twitter: "Here's a close up of the #hail accumulations in Guadalajara, #Mexico! Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/JJKg8cpJZD / Twitter"
— Ms.T (@MsT_SweetTea) Ms.T on Twitter: "Here's a close up of the #hail accumulations in Guadalajara, #Mexico! Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/JJKg8cpJZD / Twitter"
I got this pictures from #Guadalajara, my hometown in Mexico. Key areas of the city got over 4 inches of hail. It's the middle of summer and the weather is forecast to reach 80 degrees today. pic.twitter.com/PzCEglc4MH
I got this pictures from Toni Castro-Cosío, PhD. on Twitter: "I got this pictures from #Guadalajara, my hometown in Mexico. Key areas of the city got over 4 inches of hail. It's the middle of summer and the weather is forecast to reach 80 degrees today. pic.twitter.com/PzCEglc4MH / Twitter", my hometown in Mexico. Key areas of the city got over 4 inches of hail. It’s the middle of summer and the weather is forecast to reach 80 degrees today. Toni Castro-Cosío, PhD. on Twitter: "I got this pictures from #Guadalajara, my hometown in Mexico. Key areas of the city got over 4 inches of hail. It's the middle of summer and the weather is forecast to reach 80 degrees today. pic.twitter.com/PzCEglc4MH / Twitter"
— Toni Castro-Cosío, PhD. (@castroco) Toni Castro-Cosío, PhD. on Twitter: "I got this pictures from #Guadalajara, my hometown in Mexico. Key areas of the city got over 4 inches of hail. It's the middle of summer and the weather is forecast to reach 80 degrees today. pic.twitter.com/PzCEglc4MH / Twitter"
'Never-before-seen natural phenomena' in Guadalajara, Mexico due to a freak hail storm that has buried the city in ice. pic.twitter.com/3K5dzuTUSk
'Never-before-seen natural phenomena' in Guadalajara, Mexico due to a freak hail storm that has buried the city in ice. DW News on Twitter: "'Never-before-seen natural phenomena' in Guadalajara, Mexico due to a freak hail storm that has buried the city in ice. pic.twitter.com/3K5dzuTUSk / Twitter"
— DW News (@dwnews) DW News on Twitter: "'Never-before-seen natural phenomena' in Guadalajara, Mexico due to a freak hail storm that has buried the city in ice. pic.twitter.com/3K5dzuTUSk / Twitter"
