In recent days, extreme weather has been frequent in China. On Tuesday, May 13, a rare widespread hailstorm hit several areas in Beijing, with some hailstones larger than chicken eggs falling to the ground, making a crackling sound that residents described as resembling “gunfire.” The phrase “Beijing hailstorm is huge” quickly trended on Weibo.
According to local media reports, from 4 pm to 11 pm on May 13, Beijing experienced severe convective weather, resulting in rare widespread hailstorms covering areas such as Mentougou, Changping, Haidian, Chaoyang, Fengtai, Shunyi, Shijingshan, and 13 other districts.
Photos of the hailstones taken by netizens showed some hailstones with a diameter exceeding 4 centimeters. In areas like Haidian and Shijingshan, there were clusters of hailstones described as “as dense as tangyuan,” and reports even mentioned hailstones “the size of chicken eggs” on Guang’anmen Outer Street in Xicheng District. Some citizens measured the weight of the hailstones to be over 30 grams.
Local residents described the hailstones as “larger than walnuts” and “larger than chicken eggs.”
Videos uploaded by netizens showed hailstones falling on the ground, creating a crackling sound resembling “gunfire,” “exploding tangyuan,” or “setting off firecrackers.” When hitting hard surfaces, the hailstones shattered into pieces, covering the ground in a “vast expanse of white.”
Vehicles parked outdoors had their car windows smashed and the bodywork dented, resulting in severe damage.
The Weibo hashtag “Beijing hailstorm is huge” accumulated over 410 million reads, rapidly climbing to the top trending topic on Weibo.
Just three days ago, regions like Gansu and Xi’an were suddenly pelted with massive hailstones, some as big as chicken eggs, causing crisp sounds when they hit the ground. Farmers watched their hard-earned crops being destroyed in an instant, leaving them heartbroken. The hail damaged not only car windows but also caused metal factories to collapse on the spot under the heavy impact, resulting in devastating losses that left residents in tears.