Intense hail storms trigger disruption in Bogota

Violent thunderstorms have struck the Colombian capital, Bogota. 

The storms brought large amounts of hail, which blanketed the city and transformed it into a winter wonderland.

The hail was so deep that it looked like snow. Children buried themselves in it, formed snowballs and built snowmen.

However, the storms also triggered flooding and tore down trees and power lines.

A dangerous mixture of water and ice flowed down some roads to the north of the city, making them impassable and causing a major disruption to transport.

Numerous people lost power during the severe weather.

Christian Euscategui, head of the forecast and alert service Ideam, told El Colombiano that the storms were caused by the humid air of the Magdalena region to the north of Bogota, colliding with the humidity of the Orinoquia to the east.

Ice in Bogota is relatively rare. The city’s weather is described as “perpetual spring”, where nights are cool, but not cold, and days are warm, but not hot. Frost is unknown.

This amount of hail is unlikely to be seen for a long time to come, but with November being a particularly wet month for Bogota, more thunderstorms are inevitable.