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Sunday, May 11, 2008
Hailstones amuse city folks
ANGELES CITY -- Crystal-like frozen raindrops, much like little chipped-ice, fell on this city Friday afternoon.
Residents and pedestrians, who were caught by the sudden downpour, rushed to the sides of the streets to touch and feel the ice pellets the size of a 25-centavo coin.
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The ice pellets, known as hailstones, dropped from the sky for about 15 minutes along with the heavy rain at around 2 p.m. Friday.
Many of the people who got stranded by the sudden afternoon heavy rain were curious enough to touch and feel the little ice particles.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather advisories say that hailstones form when water from warm rain clouds are blown upwards by strong updrafts of air to colder altitudes.
When the frozen raindrops fall to lower altitudes, they get coated with fresh layer of water until they are again blown upwards to freeze up again. This happens in rapid succession enlarging the frozen raindrops now big enough to fall to the ground without melting.
Residents said the weather was "unusually" hot around mid noon when the sky suddenly turned dark and the heavy rain fell.
Others meanwhile fear that the phenomenon could usher in the dreaded climate change caused by pollution in the atmosphere.
Jelly Lampa, a proprietor of a stall, said she was not new to hailstones in Angeles City.
"In the 1990's, it rained ice along with the heavy rain twice. Usually it was hot then it suddenly rained," Lampa said, adding the ice pellets usually sent curious people rushing to see the short-lived event.
To the majority, the ice pellets brought relief from a warm day in the middle of May. For them it was "a taste of winter" or something close to it and "it felt good."
International weather agencies have been advising people to seek shelter during hailstorms, as hail of any size could be dangerous when pelted in high winds.
Costly and deadly hailstorms have been recorded all over the world since the 9th Century.
On April 20 to 21, 2006 hailstorms in San Marcos, Texas in the USA where hail of sizes up to 10 cm resulted in 10,000 auto claims and 7,000 homeowner and commercial property claims.
On June 28 to 29 of the same year, hailstorms in Villingen-Schwenningen and Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where large hailstones the size of a softball caused 150 million Euros of damage and the death of more than 100 people.
And on December 9, 2007 hailstorm in Sydney, Australia, where hailstorms the size of golf balls damaged cars, windows, and homes. (Ian Ocampo Flora/Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (May 11, 2008 issue)
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