Intense Hailstorm Blankets Mexico City With Snow, Causes Supermarket Ceiling Collapse
Alerts were put in place across Mexico City as an intense hailstorm hit on Sunday, June 12. The freak storm left a thick layer of ice on the streets, leaving many to wonder how something like this could have occurred just before the start of summer.
As reported by Daily Mail, 10 boroughs in Mexico City were hit by the hailstorm, leading the government to issue a yellow alert. The storm mostly hit the center and western parts of the city and led to half a foot of rain.
Meanwhile, there have been no reported deaths connected to the unexpected hail, but several buildings have been compromised. Many people have reported damages to their homes, and a supermarket’s roof has collapsed.
The intense hail made a section of the roof of a supermarket begin to leak, and then partially collapse. One person was injured with a broken clavicle, and two people were temporarily trapped by the parts of the roof that fell.
As a Twitter video shows, mounds of hail hit the city, making it look like it was covered in snow. It also shows the terrifying moment when the supermarket’s roof began to fall apart, causing immediate chaos. People began to scream, asking if others were left inside under the rubble and shouts pleading for everyone to get out of the store.
Eventually, you can hear how people filming the video suddenly yell, “There’s people there.”
There’s no doubt Mexico City was not prepared for a hailstorm of this proportion. Other videos capture how a bus cuts through deep hail on the streets, and people struggle to walk through it as they go about their day. As one Twitter user put it, “If you’re not worried, you’re not paying attention.”
The same Twitter user later wrote in the replies, “We had a huge hailstorm over vast areas of the city yesterday afternoon. Not even remotely normal,” also explaining how it “was insane all over the city. The roof of a Mega supermarket even caved in near Mixcoac!”
Chave Weather also posted a video on YouTube that showed the full extent of the hailstorm, demonstrating how cars all over the city were covered in hail, while trees and buildings were left damaged. They also reveal how the storm eventually led to flooding.
The outlet wrote in the caption that the hail initially stopped traffic and residents were “advised not to leave their homes unless necessary.” Later, “As the ice melted, flood waters were seen in low lying areas, causing further disruption.” Once the flooding died down, “debris from trees and buildings” could be seen throughout the city.
While people around the world are shocked at the fact the hailstorm hit in June, it’s not the first time this has happened in a warm-weather month. BBC reported back in July 2019 that a similar hailstorm hit Guadalajara, covering the city in ice that reached up to “1.5 meters high.”
Meteorologist Elizabeth Ramos explained to the outlet that low pressure — warm and humid wind from the Gulf of Mexico — and the mountains caused high clouds to form, resulting in the intense hail. She still stated that the event was “very rare.”
