The streets of our southernmost town were left blanketed in white, after an “intense” hailstorm in the area this morning.
Truck driver Carl Kirkbeck was bringing new fish bins out to the factories in Bluff when he noticed a dark cloud over the town around 7.30am.
“Looking at Bluff, it was jet black. It was a black you cannot describe,” he told 1News.
Another truck driver on the CB radio warned Kirkbeck – and his colleague travelling with him – of a hailstorm in the area.
While they were initially confused, when they turned the corner they found themselves in a “winter wonderland.”
“When we drove into it and saw it, it was like holy smoke. Is it bloody snow or is it actually hail?”
Arriving at a factory, Kirkbeck asked some of the workers what the hail was like.
“They said it was pretty bloody outstanding.”
Kirkbeck said it was a “good introduction to what’s coming over the next few months.”
“It’s suddenly like, sheesh, it’s winter. It was like someone just flicked a switch.”
MetService meteorologist John Law said hailstones form when raindrops are carried into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze.
When it becomes heavy enough, the hail falls from the cloud.
“You will still find heavy showers on the eastern side of the South Island this afternoon, with the risk of hail in coastal Canterbury south of Ashburton,” said Law.
MetService this afternoon issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the regions outlined by Law above.
“These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by very heavy rain and large hail.”
The thunderstorm warning lasts from 4.15pm to around 4.45pm.