SALT LAKE CITY — A massive hailstorm bore down on the Mexican city of Guadalajara over the weekend, burying the city under close to 5 feet of ice, according to multiple reports.
The snow and hail reportedly damaged 200 homes and businesses in the area, according to AFP. About 50 vehicles were swept away by snow, ice and rain. There were no injuries.
Floodwaters started to flow as well after the icy slush began to melt away, according to The Washington Post.
How it happened: Low pressure from areas south of the United States and Mexico border combined with developing storms in the area, according to CNN.
"Once these storms developed, all the ingredients came together for there to be this strange hailstorm over Guadalajara," said CNN meteorologist Michael Guy.
Three feet of hail fell across the land. Summer months are rainy and can create some severe weather now and again, according to CNN. But that’s not what created the strange weather.
"However, this was a case where atmospheric and topographic ingredients came into play to cause a freakish hailstorm," Guy said.
What they’re saying: Jalisco Gov. Enrique Alfaro said on Twitter that the Civil Protection began cleaning up all the snow. The workers had to dig cars and trucks out of accumulated snow and hail.
https://twitter.com/EnriqueAlfaroR/status/1145384992433823744Alfaro told AFP that he’s never seen anything like this in Mexico before.
“I’ve never seen such scenes in Guadalajara,” Alfaro told AFP. “Then we ask ourselves if climate change is real. These are never-before-seen natural phenomenons. It’s incredible.”
People on social media shared a number of photos and videos of the ice, hail and snow. We’ve collected several of those posts and shared them below.