DHARWAD: Machapur village in Kalagatagi of Dharwad district was transformed into a snowy landscape on Tuesday as an intense hailstorm lashed the area for over two hours. Residents came out to capture the unusual white carpet with their mobile phones, whose scenes are reminiscent of a Himalayan valley.
While the consequences were visually shocking, farmers and nurserymen were the most affected by the storm. A large number of tomato crops ready for harvest were destroyed, horticultural crops and saplings were severely damaged, and several plant nurseries were seriously affected. In addition, houses with tile roofs suffered losses due to the impact of hail. “Many crops have suffered damage and loss due to excessive hailstorm. We have informed the local agriculture department officials and shared the weather phenomenon cuts,” said a villager.
DR CS Patil, director of IMD Bengaluru, said the hailstorm was caused by strong local convection. “Several factors, such as wind speed and continuity, extreme heat and humidity, contribute to these weather phenomena. These phenomena are normal during the pre-monsoon rainy period,” he explained. It added that wind discontinuity and a north-south trough over interior north Karnataka combined with intense heat to generate deep convection, resulting in excessive hailstorm.
One local recalled that the rains lasted for more than two hours, with hail falling continuously the entire way. “The lightning activity was higher compared to other rains during the same period in previous years. We had not seen anything like this before. The roads had turned white from the hailstorm and several houses with tiles on top were damaged,” the villager said.