Hail sends police running for cover

Johannesburg - Ekurhuleni metro police ran for cover as hail the size of golf balls shattered their car windscreens and side mirrors, spokesperson Kobeli Mokheseng said on Sunday.

The hail "came down like a ton of bricks" for about five minutes on Saturday between 14:00 and 15:00, he said.

"Metro police officers who were patrolling... ran for cover following heavy rain and winds blowing uncontrollably," said Mokheseng.

He said metro police were still assessing the damage, and that no one was hurt.

The hail appeared to have been heaviest in Edenvale, Midrand, Germiston, Boksburg and Benoni.

People took to the social networking site, Twitter, to express their dismay at the damage it caused.

"What a scary experience yesterday really bad weather hail were so big damaged my younger sister kids playroom," a Twitter user wrote.

"Tennis ball sized hail at our place on Saturday crazy."

Another Twitter user wrote: "Talk about hail damage... 12 windows KO!!!!".

"Every car in the East Rand that wasn't under cover or was on the road is damaged. Mine has 3 dents on boot," wrote another person.

"My moms Clio took a beating... Hail damage all over! It went right through the body work."

The Sunday Times showed a photograph of a Benoni man, Jimmy Sales, inspecting his car's shattered rear windscreen under the headline "This weather is insane".

The newspaper carried an inset picture of a hailstone almost the size of a cricket ball which was among those which fell at the Glendower Golf Club, reportedly damaging several cars in the parking lot and gouging chunks out of the green.

The SA Weather Service on Sunday said there was a 60% chance of rain for Johannesburg.

- SAPA