BAGUIO CITY — A sudden hailstorm caught Baguio City residents and city visitors off-guard on Sunday afternoon.

After enjoying a warm and bright sunshine, a heavy rain accompanied with strong winds and solid ice caught the people by surprise.

To recall, Session Road is being closed to traffic every Sunday for buskers, artists and the rest of the people. Vendors of street foods, fruits and vegetables as well as art crafts among others also occupy the portions of the road.

During the sudden change of weather in the afternoon, many tents were destroyed by the strong winds and hail stones. Rain water from the downpour flowed down the Session Road, sweeping some of the wares and stalls of the vendors.

Hailstones are being formed at high altitudes within massive clouds when super-cooled water droplets adhere to each other and form layers of ice. While some people are amazed by such weather phenomenon, hailstorms can be destructive and dangerous as the average velocity of falling hailstones is more than 170 kilometers per hour.