Severe convective weather swept across northern China on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing hail, thunderstorms, and gale-force winds to multiple provinces and disrupting daily life for local people.
In north China's Hebei Province, the meteorological observatory issued consecutive yellow warnings for lightning and orange warnings for hail on Thursday afternoon.
Cities including Chengde, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, and the Xiong'an New Area experienced thunderstorms, accompanied by strong gusts.
In Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, a sudden bout of severe weather struck shortly after 13:00, with hailstones pounding the ground alongside heavy rainfall and lightning. The skies have since cleared.
Further south in east China's Shandong Province, the city of Dezhou was hit by an even more intense storm system during Wednesday evening rush hour.
Local authorities issued five separate warning signals within a short span, covering severe convection, heavy rain, thunderstorm gales, hail, and lightning. The entire rainfall event lasted approximately two hours.
Meteorologists forecast that scattered thunderstorms and showers will continue in parts of Dezhou over the coming days, with localized heavy precipitation and thunderstorm gales possible.
In Shaanxi Province, Wednesday afternoon also saw sudden severe weather, with Qishan County in Baoji City experiencing a brief but intense hailstorm.
At around 17:00, heavy rain mixed with hailstones the size of corn kernels pelted the county town for roughly 30 minutes.
The storm snapped and uprooted trees along urban roads.
According to the latest forecast from the local weather department, a large-scale precipitation event is expected from Friday through Sunday, bringing widespread showers and thunderstorms with hourly rainfall intensity potentially reaching 10 to 30 millimeters.
Severe weather batters northern China, disrupting daily life
