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March 14, 2025 | 07:43 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In the Indonesian regions of Sleman and Yogyakarta City, hailstorms struck on Tuesday afternoon, March 11, 2025, following torrential downpours and strong winds, inciting concerns among the locals. As a tropical nation, hailstorms in particular happen rarely in the country.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) explained that the extreme weather phenomenon occurs mainly due to the formation of Cumulonimbus clouds, which could reach up to 15 kilometers high with peak temperatures of around -72.5 degrees Celsius.
Quoting the National Severe Storms Laboratory, hail is a form of water deposition before it falls to the ground. This formation occurs during thunderstorms. Hail contains heavier masses compared to regular water droplets.
G. Brant Foote, a researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, explained that hail is formed when there is a strong updraft of air. Foote explained that when the rising air carries water droplets to a high altitude, they freeze. The stronger the updraft, the larger the hailstone. When the formed ice becomes larger and the push disappears, the ice falls, according to Foote in the Journal of Applied Meteorology.
What causes Yogyakarta hailstorms?
BMKG revealed that one of the factors causing hailstorms in Sleman and Yogyakarta is the detection of a cyclonic circulation pattern west of Kalimantan. This pattern resulted in a change in wind direction in most parts of Java Island, including Yogyakarta. In addition, the high air humidity in the atmospheric layer between 850 to 550 millibars, reaching a percentage of 90 percent, has created very favorable conditions for the formation of large rain clouds.
Scientifically, hailstorms occur due to strong convection processes, also known as deep convection. This process causes water vapor to rise to extreme heights, where the very low temperature allows the vapor to freeze into ice particles. Cumulonimbus clouds themselves consist of three types of particles, namely water droplets, supercooled water droplets, and ice particles. When the ice particles in the clouds become heavier, gravity pulls them down to the earth's surface, causing hailstorms.
The impact of hailstorms in Yogyakarta
Marble-sized hailstones fell over the Sleman region, damaging some public facilities and uprooting a number of trees. The accompanying strong winds during the hailstorm reached speeds of more than 25 knots, further worsening the situation in the area.
Hailstorms generally occur in moderate climate areas. Referring to the Environmental Engineering page of the Adhi Tama Institute of Technology (ITATS), several factors causing hailstorms include the availability of potential energy in the air, sufficiently high air humidity, and the presence of moist air below dry air.
BMKG also warned the public to remain vigilant as the potential for similar extreme weather conditions is expected to persist well into April. "We urge the public to always monitor the latest weather information and be cautious during extreme weather conditions such as hailstorms and strong winds," said a BMKG representative.
Hailstorms in Tropical Regions
Although Indonesia is known as a tropical climate country, hailstorms are not truly rare phenomena. Similar events usually occur during the transition between seasons, either from the rainy season to the dry season or vice versa.
BMKG explained that before a hailstorm occurs, the weather conditions will generally feel hotter and more humid during the daytime, with very rapid Cumulus cloud growth. If there has been no rain in the past few days, the likelihood of heavy rain accompanied by strong winds will increase.
"Based on our observations, hailstorms tend to occur more often or generally occur in urban areas," said the Head of the Sleman Climatology Station, BMKG Yogyakarta, Reni Kraningtyas, on Thursday, March 4.
The hailstorm in Sleman and Yogyakarta serves as a reminder that the current unstable atmospheric conditions can trigger extreme weather, even in tropical regions. BMKG hopes people can stay vigilant about the weather patterns and heed the latest information shared by the weather agency to take appropriate preventive measures.
Hendrik Khoirul Muhid, Pribadi Wicaksono, Siti Nur Rahmawati, and Zacharias Wuragil contributed to the writing of this article.
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