A spring hailstorm sparked flash floods in Valencia, Spain.

Footage shows waterlogged roads, with up to 20cm of hailstones blanketing the motorway, resembling a mid-winter snowstorm in Villar del Arzobispo on May 8.

Earlier this month, marble-sized hailstones covered roads and fields in Piedrabuena, Castile-La Mancha.

Authorities urged residents to stay indoors and seek shelter, as the risk of further severe weather remains high.

The unexpected intensity of the storm has drawn criticism of the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (CECOPI), the regional emergency coordination body, for allegedly failing to issue timely warnings or respond effectively.

Scientists, including those from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warn that the Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with irregular and intense weather becoming more common.

Studies show that extreme weather events like this are becoming more erratic due to climate change.
A Science News report cited marine heatwaves—such as the recent 30-degree Celsius surge in the Mediterranean—as a driving force behind extreme weather.

Hailstones form when raindrops are carried by thunderstorm updrafts into freezing regions of the atmosphere. As they rise, they freeze and grow by colliding with other supercooled droplets—a phenomenon common during spring and summer storms.