Huge hailstones hit suburbs

Breaking Earth News
Australia

HAILSTONES the size of cricket balls battered a path of destruction across western Sydney and up the NSW central coast yesterday afternoon when a violent thunderstorm swept over the city.

The Bureau of Meteorology described the storm as "particularly dangerous" and warned people to stay indoors.

Several people were injured by hailstones in the storm, which struck at about 4.30pm.

Blacktown, in Sydney's outer western suburbs, was particularly hard hit, with one street recording 40 homes with broken windows, according to an early briefing provided to the State Emergency Service by the NSW Metropolitan Fire Service, which in many cases was the first agency to respond.

"There's been quite a swath of large hail," a Bureau of Meteorology spokesman said.

"(We've had) lots of reports of hail of golf-ball size. We've had a few reports of hail up to seven centimetres (across) in a couple of places."