A hailstorm took place in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday afternoon, to the surprise of locals who said they have never seen anything like it. Meanwhile, torrential rains are forecast to hit northern provinces today.

The hail occurred in Tan Thoi Hiep Ward, District 12, surprising many locals.

The hailstones were milky in color and were around the same size as the first knuckle of a little finger, and melted rapidly after hitting the ground, witnesses said.

According to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center, hailstorms usually occur in the transitional time between the dry and wet seasons every year.

However, hailstorms will occur more often, and hailstones will be bigger, in mountainous and plain areas, said Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the center.

When convection clouds reach an altitude of over 5 km and contact appropriate low temperature areas, they will freeze into ice that than falls to the ground in the form of hailstones, Hai explained.

The center also said medium and heavy rains will occur in northern Vietnam today, September 4, possibly together with whirlwinds and thunderstorms, as a result of a low pressure system meeting a cold front.

The same rainy weather will be seen in north-central provinces and is likely to last for two to three days, the center said.

In addition, flashflood and landslides may occur in mountainous areas, the center warned.