This Afternoon, Rizhao in Shandong Province Was Slammed by a Massive Hailstorm With Hailstones Larger Than Eggs Pounding the City on May 11
RIZHAO, SHANDONG PROVINCE, CHINA — A massive hailstorm struck Rizhao in Shandong Province on the afternoon of Sunday May 11, 2026, unleashing hailstones larger than eggs across the city. Images and video from the event show extraordinary hail sizes filling the ground and streets as the storm moved through.
Hailstones Far Beyond Normal Size
Photos captured during the storm show hailstones that are significantly larger than a human hand can comfortably hold — with individual stones displaying a distinctive cauliflower-like surface texture consistent with extreme hail formation inside a powerful thunderstorm updraft.
The size of the hail documented in Rizhao places this event well into the category of destructive and dangerous hail, capable of:
- Shattering windows and glass
- Severely damaging vehicles and rooftops
- Causing serious injury to anyone caught outdoors
What the Images Show
Ground-level footage from the storm shows hail blanketing streets and surfaces as the storm moved through, with visibility reduced and debris scattered across the area. Multiple close-up images confirm the extraordinary size of individual hailstones collected immediately after the storm.
A Significant Severe Weather Event
Hail of this size is rare and represents one of the more extreme outcomes of a severe thunderstorm. The Rizhao event on May 11 serves as a stark reminder of how destructive large hail events can be when powerful convective storms develop under the right atmospheric conditions.
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