Penampang: Kampung Inobong residents were both shocked and excited when chunks of ice the size of golf balls accompanied a thunderstorm, Friday evening.The phenomenon, known as hail, occurs when supercooled water freezes. Hail is a form of precipitation, which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice (hailstones).
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Caf} owner, Evelyn Mingkong said she was at home with her family when they heard loud clatter on the roof at about 4.50pm.They looked outside, suspecting someone was throwing stones at the house, and were shocked with what they saw.
"We could not believe it É there were actually chunks of ice raining down outside," she said, adding at the heat of the moment, they all screamed.She said before the episode occurred, there was heavy rain accompanied by thunder. Soon after the power supply broke down and the hailstones started falling.
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Evelyn, 43, said the hailstones fell for about five minutes. "This is the first time in my life I have seen such a thing," she said, adding fortunately nothing was damaged.A contractor, Simon Chong, who was driving when the ice balls started falling, was equally surprised.
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"I have never seen this before É my windscreen were full of them!" he said, adding he dared not go outside.Among the other houses hit with hailstones was City Hall's senior enforcement officer Ernest Mojikon's home.
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A Sabah Meteorological Services Department spokesperson said they had not detected anything out of the ordinary in their forecast.The spokesperson said no one called their office asking about hailstorms but there were people who rang their forecast headquarters at Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur, saying something about the hailstorm here.
