On the morning of April 29th, a sudden heavy rain fell in Changsha, Hunan province, and by noon the sky had darkened dramatically, resembling nighttime. People couldn’t distinguish between day and night anymore. The weather forecast predicted heavy rain and hail in Changsha.
On the 29th, the weather in Changsha, Hunan, suddenly became a hot topic on mainland social media platforms. Topics like “Changsha turned into ‘night’ at noon” attracted attention. Local residents posted videos and photos showing the blackened sky over Changsha at noon on the 29th.
“People downstairs in Changsha thought it was night when the UV insect lamps went off.” “Can’t tell if it’s day or night.” “It’s dark, the street lights in Changsha are on.” “Good night in the afternoon, Changsha~” “At noon in Changsha, it feels like midnight!”
Videos circulated online showing a dark sky in the area, with street lights and building lights already lit up, resembling night. Residents were amazed by the sudden change.
According to the Hunan Daily, the Changsha Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow warning for heavy rain at 11:52 am on the 29th, forecasting that Xiangjiang New District, Yuhua District, Tianxin District, Furong District, Kaifu District, and Changsha County would receive rainfall of over 50 millimeters between 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm, with maximum hourly rainfall intensity of 30 millimeters, along with hail, thunderstorms, and strong convective weather.
At 12:53 pm, the Changsha Meteorological Observatory issued an orange hail warning, stating that hail may occur in the Tianxin District in the next 2 hours.
Netizens mocked, “The weather forecast is too late.” “Strong winds and heavy rain started at 12:42, and they only issued an orange hail warning at 12:53.”
According to the Hunan Weather Weibo account, around noon on the 29th, Changsha experienced severe convective weather. At the Changsha Xiangjiang Happy Ocean Park, there was a sudden heavy storm with strong winds and rain, significantly reducing visibility, and hail falling from the sky.
Meanwhile, the Guangzhou Railway Group issued a notification, stating that based on information from the meteorological department, there will be widespread heavy to heavy rain in most parts of Hunan and the central and northern parts of Guangdong in the near future. Therefore, they planned to suspend operation of 62 conventional-speed trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou railway from April 29th to May 1st, with some trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Kowloon, and Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railways experiencing varying degrees of delays.