Massive Piles Of Hail Accumulate In Delco In Bizarre Storm

After being assured that the region would not see its first snow of the season on Thursday, residents in Delaware County wound up seeing something that was an awful convincing imitation.

Nearly two feel of hail covered parts of Delaware County during the storm, leaving massive piles on the roadways that gave the impression of a winter blizzard.

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The most dramatic images and videos came out of Parkside, where dozens of social media posts showed children and dogs playing in the banks of hail like snow.

Police in Parkside said PennDOT crews cleared 19 inches of hail from Edgemont Avenue and other nearby roadways. Several roads were closed during the storm and the following cleanup process.

Elsewhere, local residents reported shoveling piles out of their driveway and sidewalks in front of their homes.

Hail forms when powerful upwinds inside thunderstorms send water droplets high into the atmosphere, causing them to freeze before they fall back down to earth.

The extreme and bizarre weather Thursday was not limited to hail, as powerful winds and rain hammered other parts of the region.

And nearby in New Castle County, Delaware, a tornado touched down, the National Weather Service confirmed. The agency said a full report and further details on the tornado would be made available at some point on Friday.