Huge hailstones the size of tennis balls have battered parts of Almeria after a violent summer storm swept across the province on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, flash floods turned streets into rapids in Murcia, while a thermal downburst struck in Alicante, causing hurricane-like scenes.

In Almeria, dramatic images from the Valle del Almanzora show enormous chunks of ice collected by residents following the sudden downpour.

Some of the most striking scenes were reported in Cela, where weather association AMETSE warned of ‘very large hail’ falling during the storm.

Elsewhere, exceptionally large hailstones were photographed in La Jauca, near El Hijate, with the storm striking the northern part of Almeria province at around 7.30pm.

Photographs from the area show individual hailstones comparable in size to a hen’s egg, while some witnessed during the storm were described locally as being as large as tennis balls.

The extraordinary scenes came despite sweltering August temperatures across much of southern Spain.

Weather warning issued before storm

AEMET had placed the Valle del Almanzora and Los Velez under a yellow weather warning on Monday, with forecasters specifically warning that thunderstorms could produce hail and very strong gusts of wind.

The storm developed rapidly during the evening, dumping intense rain and hail across a relatively localised area of northern Almeria.

The province was not alone in experiencing unusually violent weather on Monday.

Neighbouring Murcia was also hit by severe thunderstorms, with more than 100 litres of rain per square metre recorded in parts of the Moratalla area over three hours, alongside hail and localised flooding.

The storms formed part of a broader spell of instability affecting eastern Spain, with torrential rain, hail and strong winds forecast in several regions even as temperatures remained extremely high elsewhere in the country.

Parts of Alicante and Valencia were also on an orange alert for similar conditions, with one video showing a so-called ‘thermal downburst’ hitting the municipality of Alcoy (Alicante).