PHOTOS: Surviving massive hail storms in parts of KZN

Parts of KZN experienced a massive hail storm on Tuesday evening.

Residents took to social media to share pictures of the massive hail stones.

One resident, Janine O’Neill, said she has lived in the Midlands since 2008 and she had never seen hail that big before.

“The hail damaged quite a few cars in the parking lot. My backlight was also broken and it damaged my pot plants, luckily, we didn’t lose any windows,” said O’Neill.

O’Neill shared pictures of the hail stones, some as big as an egg. After freezing and measuring the hail stones O’Neill said they were a little over two inches.

Commenting on a post on the Nottingham Road/ Rosetta/ Mooi River Facebook page, Lee Nieuwoudt said she caught the storm on her way home and her car was covered in dents.

Weather expert Dr Angelo Hoorn, who runs the Severe Weather and Information Centre (Swaicsa) Facebook group said yesterday’s severe weather over KZN affected mostly the southern parts of KZN. “I did issue severe weather warnings including hail for the southern and eastern parts of KZN to my KZN weather whatsapp group at 12:37 pm.

“Some of the storms developed overshooting tops. An overshooting top (or penetrating top) is a dome-like protrusion shooting out of the top of the anvil of a thunderstorm and into the lower stratosphere. When an Overshooting Top is present for 10 minutes or longer, it is a strong indication that the storm is severe.

“Some of these overshooting tops lasted for more than 30 minutes. When an overshooting tops lasts more than 30 minutes, it’s usually an indication that a far more dangerous thunderstorm, known as a supercell, may have developed. Some of my members who lives in Howick and Dargle (two towns that were severely affected by hail) reported rotation (clockwise spinning) of the clouds over their towns when the storms hit, which suggests that a supercell development did occur,” said Hoorn.

He said large hail of up to seven centimentres in diameter was observed and reported over parts of southern-KZN yesterday afternoon.

Hail storm pic
Photo: Janine O’Neill
“Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze. Hailstones then grow by colliding with liquid water drops that freeze onto the hailstone’s surface. Hail usually falls over a very small area, that is why you will find that some parts of a town gets hit, while other parts of the same parts didnt observe anything.

Asked if the KZN Midlands area would see more severe storms this summer, he said: “Yes, we are in the storm season so more severe storms like we saw yesterday will develop during the summer season. Even tornadoes can be expected over parts of KZN during this summer season. What happened in KZN in April is not a matter of if it will happen again, but when. The public needs to become more aware of the weather and remain vigilant.”

Speaking to the Witness, South African Weather services (SAWS) weather forecaster Odirile Modipa said people should take caution at all times during severe thunderstorms.

According to Modipa, the frequency of thunderstorms will generally increase as we transition into the summer season, and these thunderstorms also have a high potential of becoming severe, meaning that they will be accompanied by hail and strong winds.

Tips on how to survive severe thunder storms:

1. Take caution.
2. Avoid travelling on bridges and roads in low lying areas as they might be susceptible to flooding and there may be sinkholes.
3. Avoid outdoor activities as wind and flooding may result in injuries.
4. Avoid being in an open area as there may be flying debris from the storm.
5. Stay indoors, well-clear from windows, shelter your pets and cover your vehicles.