On the afternoon of August 18th, Inner Mongolia’s Erguna City was hit by a sudden hailstorm that lasted for about 20 minutes.
Several Inner Mongolian netizens posted videos claiming that Erguna City was unexpectedly bombarded by hail on August 18th. In the videos, the largest hailstones were reported to be as big as chicken eggs.
After the hailstorm, outdoor tents and vehicles were damaged, and the vegetables planted in residents’ yards were also destroyed by the hail.
Erguna City’s a homestay owner told Extreme News that on the 18th of August, around 4:15 pm, hail fell suddenly in the urban area, causing loud banging noises as the hail pounded on the roofs. The hail lasted for about 20 minutes and gradually stopped. He even brought out a chicken egg for comparison and found that the largest hailstones were nearly the size of eggs.
It was reported that the hail mainly hit the urban areas, with varying start times and durations ranging from 15 to 30 minutes.
On August 18th, the Erguna City Meteorological Observatory issued three consecutive yellow thunderstorm warnings, predicting that thunderstorm activity might occur in some local areas accompanied by short-term heavy rainfall, thunderstorm gusts, hail, and other severe convective weather.