Cars have been destroyed by giant golf ball-sized hailstones that fell from the sky as a violent storm passed over the Spanish city of Almería last night.
The ferocious hailstorm caused havoc as it swept over the southern Spanish city which also suffered flooding from freak rainfall.
Photos and videos shared to social media showed the large hailstones damaging car windshields and windows with severe dents and chips left in metal and paintwork.
Other videos and pictures showed the aftermath of the storm, with one showing nearly a dozen large holes in the rear window of an Almería resident’s car.
On top of the hail, the city was flooded, with 100mm of rain falling in 12 hours. At its heaviest, 30mm of rain fell in a single hour.
Golfball-sized hailstones fell from the skies over Almería
The hail was accompanied by severe rain that left the city flooded
The hailstorm’s size and severity was the result of stormclouds that have been plaguing the region for days.
Yesterday Dólar, in Granada, was inundated with 148 mm of raine, while Caravaca de la Cruz, in Murcia, had 104 mm pour down and Carcaixent, in Valencia, was hit with 85.8 mm.
It comes just a few months after British holidaymakers hoping to leave behind the rain by heading to Spain were met with torrential downpours, hail, strong winds and flash floods.
Images from Costa Blanca showed submerged streets, overflowing rivers, and fast-moving water barrelling across dry fields before crashing onto highways in June.
Hail stones fell in some parts of the Valencian community, which includes the provinces of Alicante and Valencia.
The enormous hailstones left cars across the city damages
Rear windows were smashed in by the hailstones
The streets of Almería were flooded following the heavy rain
The metalwork of cars was left dented
The extent of the damage to the city is not currently known
Further south in Murcia roads turned into raging torrents. In its capital city locals and tourists were pictured ankle-deep in water in its main street as they tried to negotiate their way past shops while others took refuge inside.
Elsewhere in the province cars were seen and wheelie bins were seen ‘swimming’ down streets which looked more like rivers. Firefighters were said to be ‘working tirelessly’ with roads closed in some places.
By contrast British holidaymakers on the Costa del Sol were today basking in glorious sunshine.
In Marbella, tourists were topping up their tans under blue skies in 26 degrees Celsius temperatures (78 degrees Fahrenheit).
It made a welcome break for those who had just flown in from the UK.
Office worker Sally Jones, 26, said: ‘I was in desperate need of sunshine. The weather’s been really gloomy back home.
‘I’ve got friends who are on the Costa Blanca right now and are saying they wished they’d come on holiday with me instead.’