(Video) Hailstones hit Tseung Kwan O

A rare hailstorm fell over Tseung Kwan O on Thursday afternoon, with online videos and photos shared by residents showing the area being pounded by 1-centimeter balls of ice.

The last time Hong Kong recorded hail was in July 2016.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the phenomenon was caused by high temperature and unsettled weather.

The observatory said at 1pm under the influence of showers and thunderstorms triggered by high temperatures, rainfall would be heavier over parts of the territory. The thunderstorm warning was hoisted at 11.56am.

Netizens posted photos of the hailstorm online, with some saying they initially thought some naughty children threw ice out of the windows.

Some said “no need to pay an extra HK$2 for an iced drink”, while the Tseung Kwan O residents were surprised by the hail, worrying if the hailstones would break their windows.

A student surnamed Wong said the hailstones were “larger than the bubbles in bubble tea.”

A staff member from an eatery in Chi Sin Street in Tseung Kwan O, said that many customers ran out to take photos of the hailstones.

The observatory said hail was reported around Tseung Kwan O at 1pm, where an intense echo reflectivity was found on the observatory’s weather radarscope.

More than 3,000 lightning strikes were recorded over Hong Kong from noon to 3pm, with around 95 percent of them recorded in the New Territories.

“Rain was particularly heavy in Tseung Kwan O in Sai Kung district, with the highest 91 millimeters of hourly rainfall recorded," the observatory said.

Over the past 20 years, the HKO has recorded 11 reports of hail.

This was the third time hail hit the city in September, since 1983 and 2002.

Hail is more likely to be seen in March, April and July. The highest record was in March 1983, where Hong Kong recorded four hailstorms in a month.

Former director of the observatory Shum Chi-ming shared an online video on Facebook, with hailstones dropping on a playground in Po Lam.

Shum said the size of hailstones "is mainly determined by the intensity of the updraft", referring to the rising currents in the air.

Click here to watch another video videotaped by Tseng Kwan O residents.