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Such hail hasn't been seen in a long time: 'Ice balls' fell from the sky in Poland
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania /Disasters & Emergencies

Such hail hasn't been seen in a long time: 'Ice balls' fell from the sky in Poland

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Severe storms, including intense rain and large hail, struck parts of Poland, causing widespread damage and injuries.
  • Over 1,300 calls were made to firefighters, primarily dealing with wind damage to roofs, particularly in the Warmian-Masurian and Masovian voivodeships.
  • Hailstones reportedly reached the size of fists, damaging buildings and vehicles, with two people injured in one incident when a tree fell on a car.

Parts of Poland experienced severe storms on Thursday, bringing heavy downpours and hail that caused significant damage and injured several people. The Polish State Fire Service responded to over 1,300 calls, with the majority of incidents related to wind damage and damaged roofs.

Driving on the provincial road, I saw that almost every roof covered with tiles or asbestos was damaged. From conversations with residents, it is clear that several cars were also damaged. Apparently, the ice chunks were even the size of fists.

โ€” Damiana StankiewiczaA spokesperson for the fire brigade in Lidzbark Warmiล„ski describing the extent of the damage from the hailstorm.

The most affected regions were the Warmian-Masurian and Masovian voivodeships. In the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, hail the size of fists reportedly battered towns like Lubomino and Maury, damaging an estimated 19 residential and 10 utility buildings. "Driving on the provincial road, I saw that almost every roof covered with tiles or asbestos was damaged. From conversations with residents, it is clear that several cars were also damaged. Apparently, the ice chunks were even the size of fists," said Damiana Stankiewicza, a spokesperson for the fire brigade in Lidzbark Warmiล„ski.

In addition to property damage, the storms resulted in injuries. In the ลšwiฤ™tokrzyskie Voivodeship, a tree fell on a group of about 50 pilgrims, injuring two people. Two more individuals were injured in the Masovian Voivodeship. In the Kฤ™trzyn district, a tree fell onto a moving car, injuring the 57-year-old driver, who was hospitalized with head injuries. His passenger was unharmed.

We were driving to visit family and had to stop. Suddenly, a terribly strong wind picked up, and after a moment, nothing could be seen or heard except the crashing.

โ€” Lubomino residentDescribing the sudden onset and intensity of the hailstorm.

One resident from Lubomino described the intensity of the hailstorm, which he experienced around 2 p.m. "We were driving to visit family and had to stop. Suddenly, a terribly strong wind picked up, and after a moment, nothing could be seen or heard except the crashing," he recounted. He added that the hailstones were the size of tennis balls, or possibly larger, and the storm, though short, was very intense.

The hailstones were the size of tennis balls, or possibly larger, but it was quite short, although very intense.

โ€” Lubomino residentFurther describing the size and intensity of the hailstones.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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