Hanoi experienced a rare hail event in the early hours of march 30, following a period of heavy rain. Starting around 4 am, intense rainfall swept across many parts of the city. Approximately one hour later, hailstones began to fall in various inner-city areas, including My Dinh, Tay Ho, and Long Bien, with diameters typically ranging from one to two centimeters.

Residents reported the unusual weather. Nguyen Khanh Huyen, a resident of Long Bien, was awakened around 5 am by the sound of hailstones striking her corrugated iron roof. She observed two distinct bursts of hail, each lasting several minutes, noting it was the first time her area had experienced such an event in about five years.

In Dong Ngac ward, the hail persisted for approximately 30 minutes. Nguyen Hai Yen described the hailstones as larger than a fingertip and falling densely enough to puncture a plastic awning. Similarly, Tran Van Manh, while driving across Nhat Tan bridge at the same time, reported hearing the hailstones clearly impacting his car's windshield, leaving the bridge's surface covered in white stones comparable in size to corn kernels.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting attributed the hail to a convergence zone of winds at an altitude of 5,000 meters, moving from Upper Laos. During the night and early morning of march 30, many areas across the northern region, including Hanoi, experienced strong showers and thunderstorms, with localized hail.

The hail in Hanoi occurred between 5 am and 6 am. Each burst typically lasted between five and 15 minutes, with hailstones generally measuring one to two centimeters in diameter and not falling with excessive density.

Following the event, the rain-producing cloud system has shifted towards the Northeast, leading to a rapid decrease in rainfall across other parts of the Northern Delta region, with skies now turning sunny.

Viet An - Gia Chinh