Sudden Summer Hailstorm Puts Guadalajara, Mexico, on Ice

TOPSHOT - Vehicles buried in hail are seen in the streets in the eastern area of Guadalaja
ULISES RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images

Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s highest-populated cities, woke up Sunday morning buried under three feet of ice.

Mexico’s Jalisco state Gov. Enrique Alfaro tweeted the “Civil Protection personnel quickly began cleanup, digging vehicles out from beneath the sea of hail and pumping out floodwaters once it had started to melt,” according to a translation by the Washington Post.

People remain on the sidewalk of a street covered with hail in the eastern area of Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on June 30, 2019. - The accumulation of hail in the streets of Guadalajara buried vehicles and damaged homes. (Photo by ULISES RUIZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read ULISES RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images)

People remain on the sidewalk of a street covered with hail in the eastern area of Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on June 30, 2019. – The accumulation of hail in the streets of Guadalajara buried vehicles and damaged homes. (Photo by ULISES RUIZ / AFP)

“I’ve never seen such scenes in Guadalajara,” Alfaro told AFP. Approximately 200 homes and businesses have been reportedly damaged, as well as at least 50 vehicles. In some areas, the ice piled five feet high.

TOPSHOT - A policeman stands next to vehicles buried in hail in the eastern area of Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on June 30, 2019. - The accumulation of hail in the streets of Guadalajara buried vehicles and damaged homes. (Photo by ULISES RUIZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read ULISES RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images)

A policeman stands next to vehicles buried in hail in the eastern area of Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on June 30, 2019. – The accumulation of hail in the streets of Guadalajara buried vehicles and damaged homes. (Photo by ULISES RUIZ / AFP)

Neither casualties nor injuries have been reported, though two people may have shown “early signs of hypothermia,” according to the Civil Protection office. Up until now, the five-million-resident city has had more expected summer temperatures, hovering around 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

“We ask ourselves if climate change is real,” Alfaro said. “These are never-before-seen natural phenomenons. It’s incredible.”

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