Canberra, Australia
Severe Hailstorm,
January 20, 2020
Similar severe
hailstorms were in:
1871, 1877, 1897,
1919, 1936, 1956,
and 1963
This is not
unprecedented.
Windows, cars,
gardens smashed.
Over 15,000
insurance claims
so far.
Hail destroying trees
at Parliament House.
Lots of damage
to solar panels:
Canberra aims to be
100% renewables eventually.
Queanbeyan
is Canberra’s
twin city, in the
next state.
Hail storms
occur regularly,
mostly in
the summer.
Here are
some
examples:
January 7, 1871:
Queanbeyan
Hail of
“large jagged shapes”,
“bigger than pigeon’s eggs”
shattered
“hundreds of glass windows”,
“cut ripe paddocks of wheat
to pieces”,
was
“ruinous on fruit”
crops, vine and trees.
Many buildings
were damaged.
Hail lay in
“deep drifts
on the ground”.
December 29, 1877:
Extraordinary
Hailstorm in
Queanbeyan
– large as
“oranges” and
“cricket balls”,
cut through
corrugated tin,
killed “40 lambs”,
knocked down foals,
felled a horse.
Left a trail of
“terrible”
destruction.
September 7, 1897:
Phenomenal Hailstorm:
“the hailstones so large
that two of them filled
a pint pot”.
December 15, 1910:
Hail as
“large as hens eggs”
hit Weetangera.
The crops were
“a woeful sight”.
Two and a half inches
of rain fell in Burra.
30 sheep drowned
in Mt Campbell.
At Woden Creek
wire fences were
washed away.
December 2, 1919:
Destructive hailstorm:
“on roofs with the
noise of musketry,
while others came
with such force
upon the ground
as to bury themselves
deep in loose soil,
or to rebound from
harder lodgements,
especially the roads
and streets,
like tennis balls,
two or three feet high…”
December 28, 1936:
Hailstorm in Canberra:
Hailstones the size
of hazelnuts battered
… Canberra. …
Hail pierced
the hood
of a sedan car.
January 24, 1951:
Hailstorm Causes
Severe Damage
in Queanbeyan:
“Hailstones
almost as large
as hen eggs
and golf balls
were reported
from several
parts of the town.”
“Police
described
the storm as
the worst
they could
remember”.
February 16, 1956:
Hailstorm -- Canberra’s
Longest: 29 minutes.
Some of the largest
hail ever seen …
“4.8 inches”
fell on Yarralumla
in 12 minutes.
The hail caused
“up to 100% losses
in stone fruit”
… “the most
disastrous storm
for many years”.
182 points of rain
fell on the suburb
of Griffith.
Another
big hailstorm
was in 1963.