Yellow warning for thunder, lightning, gale and hail! Is the hail in Beijing in June a "weather weapon" attack?

Currently, Beijing is under a yellow warning for thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail!

At 21:05 today, Beijing issued a yellow hail warning: It is expected that from now until 0:00 on the 13th, scattered hail will occur in Pinggu, Tongzhou, Shunyi, Chaoyang, and eastern Daxing, which may cause certain losses, so please take precautions.

The Tongzhou District Meteorological Observatory upgraded and issued a red rainstorm warning signal at 22:10 on June 12, 2022: It is estimated that from now until 02:00 on the 13th, the 6-hour rainfall in Songzhuang Town, Lucheng Town, Tongyun Street, Luyi Street, Luyuan Street, and Yongshun area of ​​Tongzhou District will reach more than 150 mm, please take precautions.

Image source: Beijing Meteorological Bureau

At 13:30 today, Beijing issued a yellow warning signal for thunderstorms: It is expected that from 15:00 on the 12th to 4:00 on the 13th, there will be thunderstorms in most parts of the city, accompanied by short-term strong winds of about level 7, hail and short-term heavy rainfall in some areas, please take precautions.

The Municipal Meteorological Observatory released the precipitation (mm) from 14:00 to 22:00 on the 12th: the average for the whole city was 12.7, the average in urban areas (Chao, Hai, Feng, Shi, Dong, Xi) was 7.1, the northeast (Mi, Shun, Ping, Huai) was 34.7, the southeast (Tong, Da) was 10.0, the northwest (Yan, Chang) was 5.7, and the southwest (Men, Fang) was 0.2; the maximum in the urban area was 77.8 in Chaoyang Louzizhuang, the maximum in the city was 128.2 in Tongzhou Tongshun Racecourse, and the maximum hourly rainfall intensity was 86.0 mm/hour in Tongzhou Blue Lake Manor (21:00-22:00 on the 12th).

Currently, the rainfall is still continuing. Yellow warnings for thunder and lightning, yellow warnings for gale, and yellow warnings for hail are in effect at the same time. Please pay attention to safety when traveling.

Hail in Beijing in June also became a hot topic. Netizens were amazed at the size of the hail, but also puzzled over the reasons for the formation of hail in summer. Some even questioned whether it was a "weather weapon"...

June Hail

It’s really not a weather weapon!

Why do ice lumps appear in warm seasons?

Seeing the word "ice" in hail, many people will subconsciously associate it with the cold winter. But in fact, hail mainly occurs from May to September. The total hail days in these five months account for more than 80% of the hail days in the whole year, and June is the most popular month for hail. Winter is the season with the least hail. Why does hail prefer warm or even hot seasons?

Hail is born in strong and developing cumulonimbus clouds, which are also called hail clouds. This kind of cloud can only be formed under unstable atmospheric conditions. In spring and summer, the weather turns warmer and the sun bakes the earth hot, which easily forms unstable hot and humid air near the ground. When there is weak cold air in the high altitude, "cold above and warm below" easily causes strong convection of air, and hot and humid air rises rapidly, creating excellent conditions for the formation of hail. In winter, the temperature near the ground is very low and cannot produce strong and rapid rising air currents, so hail is difficult to form in winter.

Severe convective weather is coming.

Let’s learn how to hedge together!

Comprehensive sources: National Meteorological Science Data Center, Beijing Meteorological Observatory, People's Daily, etc.