German city hit by massive hail storm - BBC News (with video)
A storm with hail and heavy rain has hit the southwest German city of Reutlingen.
City officials have said the hail formed 30cm (12 inches) drifts in some areas and snowploughs were deployed.
About 250 firefighters took part in the clean up, in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Blimey … what a shocker … 
Happens more or less regularly there.
Is there a meteorological reason why?
Yes, there is. The low mountain ranges of the region act as a natural barrier for the warm air masses coming from Spain or the Mediterranean forcing them to move upward. They become more unstable and heap clouds develop. Eventually, a real thunderstorm front piles up, which finally erupts.
A-ha … that’ll do it … 
That’s a lot of hail.We get hail in the summer here occasionally but nothing like that.
