Freak weather in Altai region of Siberia

Strong hail storms hit in several settlements in Altai region, breaking car windows, damaging roofs of buildings and destroying greenhouses.

In some areas it wiped out future harvests.

Subscribers of Barnaul22, a public group on Vkontakte, say a thunderstorm with hail hit Polkovnikovo village in Kosikhinsky district and ruined all crops there.

Similar carnage was in Nalobikha village and along the Buysk highway.



Huge hailstorm in the Altai region of Siberia

A woman in Troitsky village posted on Instagram account told of lumps of ice falling from the sky.

'We had expected rain for a long time but it came with shapeless pieces of ice,' she said. 'I would hardly call it hail.

'I am scared to go home now. You keep taking care of your garden and in one moment all is gone.'

She called it 'force majeure' adding: 'Let's not cry and believe in ourselves.'



Hail and dust storms hit Siberia

Citizens of neighbouring Altai Republic also complained on storms with huge pieces of hail.

Further north, the city of Novosibirsk suffered strong winds with a dust storm.

One reader of The Siberian Times shared a video of the clouds of dust in the city after a deterioration in weather at around 7pm on 22 June, a day when Russians mark the longest day of the year in midsummer.

In the city's academic satellite town a female resident was reported to have been killed by a falling birch tree.

Dust storm over Novosibirsk