Thursday, Mar 28 2024
All Cities
Choose Your City
'The possession of Siberia's natural wealth has become vital in determining Russia’s position in the world'
0

Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures

By 0 and 0 and 0
13 July 2014

0

Swimmers waded out of the water covering their heads. Picture: Ruslan Sokolov

Swimmers on the popular river beach say there was no warning on a sunny day before the downpour of hailstones, some the size of golf balls and hen eggs. 

Temperatures on Saturday 12 July were as hot as 37C - or 99F - in Siberia's largest city, Novosibirsk, the day the hail cloudburst struck. 

Suddenly in late afternoon heavy winds hit the sandy beach between two bridges across the Ob River, the fifth longest in the world.

Swimmers waded out of the water covering their heads. They shielded themselves under parasols and blow-up sun beds to stay clear of the giant hailstones.

Some children were in tears, sheltering under trees, as the hail bombardment struck the beach vicinity. 

'It was like being hit by raining bullets from the sky,' said one sunbather.

'My husband was protecting my young daughter but his back was exposed to the hailstones and he has bruising all over it,' said one woman. 

Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures

Beach in Novosibirsk hit by a sudden hail storm; below is the beach seconds before the storm began. Pictures: Ruslan Sokolov

Siberia is known the world over for its ice - but hailstorms of this intensity are rare in summer, when temperatures are similar to Mediterranean resorts. 

Towels, beach mats and personal possessions were sent flying by heavy winds as the hailstones pummelled bathers and the beach.

'If we die, I love you,' a female voice is heard saying on dramatic video footage of the deluge. 

Some sunbathers managed to take cover under metal roofing on shacks near the beach. 

The river looked as if thousands of children had thrown stones into its waters all at the same time. 

The tower blocks of Novosibirsk were barely visible across the water so thick was the storm. 

Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures

The river looked as if thousands of children had thrown stones into its waters all at the same time. Pictures: Ruslan Sokolov

Grassy areas near the beach were left covered in a white sheen of hail after the storm - which lasted a matter of minutes - ended.

Footage by several local people was uploaded on the internet soon after the freak storm. 

The beach is close to the centre of Novosibirsk and is a popular summer recreation spot for locals. 

Our pictures also show what it looks like normally on a calm summer day.


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures


Freak hail storm hits Siberian beach in mid-summer - extraordinary pictures

Comments (18)

www.geoengineeringwatch.org
EyeSee, San Diego US
31/10/2014 00:00
1
0
Indeed. What is a girl like that that doing with a guy like that?
Daniel, Amsterdam, Holland
25/07/2014 23:21
1
0
Ok enough about the hail. Can we talk about the beautiful blonde in the last picture on the right?
Jason, Ct,USA
19/07/2014 03:21
1
0
WOW! It seems that in Siberia, you no have fun on beach, beach has fun on you! That's crazy video!
According to the reports, nobody was badly hurt. Probably thanks to those steel umbrellas!

John, Pittsburgh, USA
19/07/2014 01:01
0
0
Hail can be deadly as shown in the articles about Roopkund Lake http://googlesightseeing.com/2010/09/the-skeletons-of-roopkund-lake/ but I don't know if links are allowed here. When I heard about this hailstorm, I remembered reading this http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-skeleton-lake-of-roopkund-india and wondered if anyone else had read it. Australia also had a freak hailstorm recently, which is referenced here http://strangeremains.com/2013/09/12/the-mystery-of-skeleton-lake-in-roopkund-india/ and I'm wondering if it is more recent now. Google Roopkund Lake for more stories about the killer hail.
Erica , USA
18/07/2014 13:13
1
0
Was amazing, i saw the video and i was surprised. I hope no one hurts by ice balls. Here in my city all year is sunny. Good luck to all people around the world.
Mario, Obregon, Sonora, Mexico
18/07/2014 06:45
1
1
www.global-providence.info youtube.com/watch?v=BmFV2ws9788 We CAN AVERT the expected volcanic ice-ages, where we've entered now [as the very weak solar cycles as the current and the next ones, always correlate with higher volcanic clouding-cooling], through proper meshes over active craters and high over Equator, where most celestial electricity hits our planet, provenly stimulating magma. 1.Explosive volcanic eruptions triggered by cosmic rays Ebisuzaki et al 2. Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks Miller et al 3. I. Charvatova, J. Strestik, Geophysical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences "lower solar activity, occurrence of huge volcanic events and lower surface air temperature could be expected in the next decades" 4. Stothers R.B. Volcanic eruptions and solar activity
Rescue, Nicosia-Cyprus
16/07/2014 11:00
0
0
Respect
spiller35, Hungary
16/07/2014 01:31
2
0
Recpest
spiller35, Hungary
16/07/2014 01:27
0
0
Soorathul Noor :43 "Have you not seen that God drives the clouds, then joins them together and puts them fold on fold. Then you see the rain fall through them; and He sends down hail from the sky where there are mountains of it, and strikes those with it whom He will, and wards it off from whomsoever He please. His lightning could snatch away their eyes"
husayn, Maldives
16/07/2014 00:39
0
0
We had several massive hailstorms in the past month in Bulgaria - costed 12 people their lives... It's really scary how the weather and climate are changing... It made me do a little research on the internet and it looks like hailstorm in particular have increased in number at least 5 times - across the whole planet in the last 4 years...
Misha, Bulgaria
15/07/2014 21:31
2
0
Easy for me to say, but it would be safer UNDER, the water, hold your breath for a minute at a time, resurface with hands of your head, repeat....most hailstorms don't last that long....
Alex, USA
15/07/2014 16:52
7
3
My God I had no idea Novosibirsk was such a beautiful city, nor did I know it could get so hot there. I was in Tomsk in January of this year and those temperatures are just unbelievable. Would love to see Siberia again when the weather is nice.
Charlie, Miami, Florida
15/07/2014 10:50
7
1
My God I had no idea Novosibirsk was such a beautiful city, nor did I know it could get so hot there. I was in Tomsk in January of this year and those temperatures are just unbelievable. Would love to see Siberia again when the weather is nice.
Charlie, Miami, Florida
15/07/2014 10:47
5
0
I've been hit by hailstones 2 cm in diameter. They HURT! Large hailstones can injure and even kill.
Steve D, Green Bay, WI, USA
15/07/2014 09:37
6
0
12

Add your comment

We welcome a healthy debate, but do not accept offensive or abusive comments. Please also read 'Siberian Times' Privacy Policy

Name

Town/Country

Add your comments

The views expressed in the comments above are those of our readers. 'Siberian Times' reserves the right to pre-moderate some comments.

Control code*

Type the code

* obligatory


News

Business

The Bank of Russia official exchange rates of foreign currencies
EUR99.71USD92.26GBP116.52Other...