There was a heavy-rains warning for the western end of the province of Málaga but nothing for Axarquía, so the arrival of hailstones was a big surprise.

It was a 10-minute cloud burst in the early evening of Wednesday over El Borge, Almáchar, Iznate, Benamocarra, Benamargosa and part of the municipality of Vélez-Málaga.

The Mayor of Almachareño, Antonio Yuste, claimed that some of the stones were the size of ping-pong balls, whilst the Mayor of Iznate claimed he had never seen such a phenomenon in his village in a month of September.

But whatever the size or quantity, the main concern is for the subtropical fruit crop, as mangos and avocado production is in full swing with the fruit in maximum-growth phase prior to harvest.

And then there was the football match in Benamocarra where the match was halted after the players were pelted by large stones…

(News: Axarquia, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)