Massive hailstones shatter car windows as passengers scream
Motorists traveling on a central highway in Alberta, Canada, were hammered by massive hail the size of golf balls when a storm suddenly hit on Monday.
Gibran Marquez posted a video on Twitter saying he and his two friends were just five kilometres south of a service station when huge hailstones bombarded their car.
The trio had pulled over from the highway they were driving on to wait out the storm that Mr Marquez says lasted for about 17 minutes.
The video shows Marquez and his friends trapped in the car and huddled together as the vehicle’s windows started to break from the impact of the hailstones.
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"Put the backpack on your left," Marquez was heard saying as he passed the driver a bag to use as a shield from the breaking windows amid screams from other people also caught in the storm. The driver then shielded the woman from the breaking windows.
Marquez later mentioned that some of the people in the car suffered from cuts, bruises and even a mild concussion.
#abstorm last night 5km south of gasoline alley, horrible 17 minutes pic.twitter.com/15HBfcB7cp
— Gibran Marquez (@GibranMarquez7) August 2, 2022
#abstorm pic.twitter.com/3dLulY8Adu
— Gibran Marquez (@GibranMarquez7) August 2, 2022
Marquez, who posted other videos of the storm and its aftermath, was inundated with comments and queries shortly after the frightening incident.
Other people who were also caught in the storm shared their own experience in the comments.
"I hope you guys are okay. I was one of the people behind you. We are ok, some minor scratches on my neck as I tried to protect my son, but lost our car as well," one woman related, sharing an image of her car with a completely shattered window.
Marquez's vehicle was also destroyed, with a picture showing it on the side of the road with yellow caution tape on it.
The storm also had a tornado warning attached to it for several hours until it was eventually cancelled after the hail, reports say.
According to storm chasers in the area that measured the stones, some of the hail that dropped were as big as grapefruits.
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