We get hail in Melbourne from time to time, but not usually at the end of summer, and definitely not this size! This is the intersection outside my apartment – the fall was heavy enough to almost look like snow, at least to the residents of the beach and park city that is Melbourne. The hail was accompanied by rain so strong that leaves were ripped from most of the nearby trees and plastered all over cars, as you can see with the white bus in the final picture. The water collecting in the street was deep enough that passing cars created waves, which lapped at my feet as I stood in the middle of the footpath. Even now not all of the “snow” has melted away, but the conditions have calmed enough that most traffic has resumed – it’s great to see people helping each other, with pedestrians directing cars around the deepest pools and generally getting wetter than they need to just to help others avoid trouble.
I was near Chadstone when the hailing starts. It was horrifying hearing the sound when the hail hit the car roof. What is happening to our sewage system?
It was loud enough on my balcony – I’m glad I wasn’t in a car! Most of the flooding has gone from my intersection, but I know there are much worse intersections around town, so I hope they clear quickly too.
It was flooding around Chadstone too and I heard from my dad that it was flooding inside the shopping center too…hahaha What a day!!
It looks like it was definitely flooding in Chinatown – the water was really flowing quickly: http://bit.ly/9BMq8X
Those scenes are unbelievable, especially that water flow! The drains need to be cleared.
I don’t think any drains could have kept up with the rain that was failing at the time! But it all cleared reasonably quickly, although as I look out now there’s still a little “snow” on the rooftop opposite my balcony :)
I love the chivalrous piggybacking :o)
I thought the same – they looked like they were having as much fun as possible, given the conditions!