Several towns and cities in Cordoba, Argentina were battered by a sudden and violent dust storm which ripped roofs from houses, felled trees and blocked out the sun.
Shortly before 7pm local time on Sunday, locals noticed a rather foreboding cloud heading straight for the city of Rio Cuarto. Temperatures fell dramatically, and darkness descended as residents fled the sudden downpour of hail and debris.
The violent dust storm enveloped the city in minutes, bringing with it downpours of up to 37mm of rain in some areas, as well as hail. Nearby communities in Serrano and Buchardo experienced rainfall measuring 40mm.
Unfortunate residents received only a vague warning of incoming “isolated storms of varying intensity,” which might involve “powerful gusts, heavy rainfall for brief periods of time, intense electrical activity and hail.”
Judging by eyewitness videos from Rio Cuarto, the National Meteorological Service’s more pessimistic predictions were spot on.
📽️Impresionante video de cómo en pocos minutos se hace de noche en Río Cuarto por la tormenta pic.twitter.com/gi17ITYxDC
⛈🌪 Una tormenta de viento y tierra anticipó la noche en Río Cuarto. Previamente se había reportado un fenómeno similar en Sampacho. El @SMN_Argentina mantiene un alerta para la zona. pic.twitter.com/1bQRPDts0R
The region had experienced temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius earlier on Sunday before things took a dark turn. There were widespread – but short-lived – power cuts owing to the extreme weather, which included gusts of up to 120kph.
