'Hailstones the Size of Chestnuts' Pour Down Causing Evacuation Chaos... Autumn Rain Sounds Loud

Thunderstorms and Autumn Rain with Lightning in Parts of Chungbuk and Gangwon

On the afternoon of the 26th, some areas in Chungbuk and Gangwon experienced a heavy autumn rain accompanied by thunder, lightning, and gusts of wind, along with hail. In some regions, hail the size of chestnuts fell, causing a commotion as citizens evacuated.

According to Yonhap News on the 26th, between 4:00 and 4:30 PM, hail measuring 0.5 to 1 cm in length fell along with gusts of wind in Nam-myeon, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon, and Seo-myeon, Hongcheon-gun. Around the same time, hail also fell in Yuhyeon-ri, Seowon-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, prompting residents to quickly seek shelter indoors.

Choi Jong-sik (65), a resident of Yuhyeon-ri, said that the sky suddenly darkened, followed by thunder and lightning, and then a 'bang bang' sound started coming from the roof, continuing for about 10 minutes.

Hailstorm poured down in Jecheon area on the 26th
Photo by Yonhap News

He said, "It was a natural disaster I had never seen before," adding, "Hail the size of an adult's thumbnail fell on the vehicles parked outside the house, leaving scratch marks."

He also added, "I also farm cabbage, radish, and crown daisy as a pastime, so I am worried that the crops might have been damaged."

In the Jecheon and Danyang areas, from around 5:20 PM for about 30 minutes, hail ranging from the size of soybeans to chestnuts fell along with rain.

Jo, a man in his 60s living in Susan-myeon, Jecheon, said, "There was a loud crashing sound, and I thought an accident had occurred, but shortly after, large hail began to fall around. More residents than expected evacuated indoors," recounting the situation at the time.

In some places, vehicles in transit stopped and waited inside tunnels, causing a commotion, and reports of damage to agricultural products and vehicle scratches continued.

Hail usually falls when warm air is present in the lower atmosphere and cold air flows into the upper atmosphere, making the atmosphere very unstable.

The Korea Meteorological Administration stated that cold air at minus 20 degrees Celsius is located in the upper atmosphere at an altitude of 5 km, causing atmospheric instability. It warned that rain accompanied by gusts of wind, thunder, and lightning will continue mainly in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon until tomorrow, and hail may fall in some areas, urging caution.