<p>A tropical north Australian town has been pounded by "record-breaking" hailstones the size of mangoes or grapefruit, with some shattering car windscreens.</p>.<p>The giant hailstones measured more than 16 centimetres (six inches) in diameter, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said Wednesday.</p>.<p>They hit Yalboroo when a storm swept through the small town about 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) north of Brisbane late Tuesday.</p>.<p>Social media images showed the icy monsters spilling out of people's hands, and huge hailstones were seen smashing down in front of a car in one video posted on Twitter.</p>.<p>"Yesterday's 16cm hail in Yalboroo, Queensland is a new Australian record," the Bureau of Meteorology tweeted.</p>.<p>"The atmosphere was extremely unstable, which allowed hail to continue growing before gravity forced it to the ground."</p>.<p>The previous record of 14 centimetres was set in southeast Queensland state in October 2020, the bureau added.</p>.<p>There were fresh warnings of severe thunderstorms along Australia's east coast on Wednesday, with reports of giant hailstones striking for a second day -- this time in the coastal town of Coffs Harbour, north of Sydney.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
<p>A tropical north Australian town has been pounded by "record-breaking" hailstones the size of mangoes or grapefruit, with some shattering car windscreens.</p>.<p>The giant hailstones measured more than 16 centimetres (six inches) in diameter, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said Wednesday.</p>.<p>They hit Yalboroo when a storm swept through the small town about 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) north of Brisbane late Tuesday.</p>.<p>Social media images showed the icy monsters spilling out of people's hands, and huge hailstones were seen smashing down in front of a car in one video posted on Twitter.</p>.<p>"Yesterday's 16cm hail in Yalboroo, Queensland is a new Australian record," the Bureau of Meteorology tweeted.</p>.<p>"The atmosphere was extremely unstable, which allowed hail to continue growing before gravity forced it to the ground."</p>.<p>The previous record of 14 centimetres was set in southeast Queensland state in October 2020, the bureau added.</p>.<p>There were fresh warnings of severe thunderstorms along Australia's east coast on Wednesday, with reports of giant hailstones striking for a second day -- this time in the coastal town of Coffs Harbour, north of Sydney.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>