Aberdeenshire village blanketed with hailstones just days into summer

A village in Aberdeenshire has been blanketed with hailstones just days into the start of summer.

Residents of Old Meldrum experienced three seasons in one day on Tuesday, with locals reporting being hit with thunder, rain, wind and sun.

Videos shared on social media showed roads and cars covered in white as hailstones battered the area.

According to STV meteorologist Sean Batty, hailstones during the warmer months are actually more common than you would think.

As the clouds that bring hail are driven by heat rising from the ground – something far more intense in June than in winter – they can grow much larger and reach much higher into the atmosphere.

“In the summer, these clouds extend higher into very cold air”, Sean explains.

“Today, for example, it’s +14C on the ground, but the tops of the clouds are around -20C.

“The strong updraughts of warm air coming from the ground force water droplets high up into the cloud, which then freeze on contact with ice particles high up in the cloud.”