Simon Hunter
TUESDAY was an otherwise normal June day in the Spanish capital, with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 20s. But the apparent calm was shattered in several Madrid neighbourhoods toward 8pm as a sudden hailstorm hit.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed apocalyptic scenes of areas such as Moncloa to the east of the city, which had been plunged into a grey-tinged gloom as winds whipped trees and hailstones rained down.
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The conditions saw trees felled, in one case at least smashing through a car windscreen, as well as damage to umbrellas on sidewalk cafes and balconies.
The hailstones were as large as three centimetres across in some cases, and roads had to be closed in areas such as the Castellana boulevard, home to one of the city’s business districts.
The extreme weather began at around 7.30pm and was accompanied by claps of thunder.
The conditions were caused by a weather front known in Spanish as a ‘DANA’, which is an isolated area of depression high in the atmosphere. They often wreak havoc in Spain thanks to bringing high levels of sudden rainfall that can often cause flash floods and severe damage to urban areas, roads and transport systems.
More severe weather is forecast as the week continues and the DANA moves across the peninsula, with Friday likely to be the worst day.
