Hailstones cause havoc in province of Brescia.<\/p>\n
A powerful storm hit\u00a0the northern Italian region of Lombardia early on Friday, dumping hailstones the size of golf balls – and in some cases larger – on the province of Brescia, smashing car windscreens, damaging homes and flattening solar panels.<\/p>\n
The storm formed shortly before 04.00 to the south-west of Novara before racing east-north-east, crossing the area north of Milan and reaching the Brescia province between 06.00 and 06.30.<\/p>\n
Some hailstones reportedly reached 10cm in diameter or more, and the facade of a building in Castrezzato, near Brescia, was left riddled with impact marks.<\/p>\n
Hail stones “the size of mandarins”<\/p>\n
According to local news outlet\u00a0Giornale di Brescia, stones of seven to eight centimetres fell across the city and surrounding towns including Roncadelle, Castel Mella, Rovato and Flero, with the worst damage to vehicles reported around Fornaci and Roncadelle.<\/p>\n
In Castrezzato, hail described as “the size of mandarins” battered cars, tore PVC cladding from a block of flats and damaged both a civil protection vehicle and a local police car.<\/p>\n
Danni in diversi zone della provincia di Brescia a causa di una violenta grandinata che si \u00e8 abbattuta sul territorio nelle prime ore di venerd\u00ec 28 agosto. I pezzi di ghiaccio enormi caduti durante il breve ma intenso temporale che ha investito l\u2019area, hanno distrutto auto,\u2026\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/Si47wcFMxe<\/a><\/p>\n