By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Shivalik Nagar and several other localities were hit by a hailstorm on Friday, with unusually large hard balls of ice pelting these areas and sending people scrambling for cover.
Windscreens and door glasses of many cars were also smashed by these large hailstones with such videos going viral on the social media.
The hailstorm caught residents and commuters off guard as large chunks of ice fell rapidly, raising questions about the unusual size of the hailstones. The intensity of the phenomenon has also puzzled observers, with scientific explanations needed to establish the conditions that led to their formation.
Hailstones develop inside thunderstorm clouds when strong rising air currents carry water droplets into extremely cold layers of the atmosphere. Powerful updrafts can keep the ice particles suspended, allowing them to grow before falling to the ground.
The unusually large size of the hailstones reported in the affected areas has drawn attention, although their dimensions and the precise atmospheric conditions would need to be verified by meteorologist