Australia is a land of extreme weather contrasts today. Struck by serious and deadly fires in the wake of a major drought, the south-east of the island continent has experienced significant rainfall in recent days.
This Monday, the region of Canberra, the capital, was affected by hailstorms. Hailstones the size of a golf ball have fallen over the city. The two photos below show their size and the damage they caused.
These two videos show the violence of the precipitation during the downpour.
Also in #Australia ... A violent #storm accompanied by # hail and #rafales> 110 km / h, hit the capital Canberra this January 20. #CanberraStorm #hail pic.twitter.com/keZHbIwi0y
- Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) January 20, 2020 # Australia continues to be talked about, after the #fires, the #storms have been particularly violent in recent days. A severe hailstorm # has caused extensive # damage in New South Wales today.
Video via Facebook - NSW Incident Alert pic.twitter.com/pidQ7wxZmF
Another impressive phenomenon occurred during the weekend. On Sunday, a dust and sand storm swept through part of New South Wales. The areas crossed were quickly found in the dark.
In New South Wales in Australia, after the heat wave, forest fires, thunderstorms and #floods, a dust storm swept through the city of Narromine. https://t.co/SUSGJVErMv
- The Weather Channel (@lachainemeteo) January 19, 2020AFP reports that two people aged 16 and 24 who were in the touristy Blue Mountains had to be hospitalized after being injured by lightning. "Within a centimeter, they were directly struck by lightning, which could have been fatal," said Greg Marshall, ambulance manager for New South Wales. The two victims are in stable condition.
Melbourne, capital of the state of Victoria, also suffered a very severe hailstorm on Sunday evening. Monday afternoon, all matches played outside in the city as part of the Australian Tennis Open had to be postponed due to heavy rain.
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These bad weather have already caused flooding. Authorities have also warned of the risk of landslides.