At least 20 people were injured as huge hailstones pounded the Siberian city of Mezhdurechensk on August 14.

Locals were forced to rush for cover as hailstones the size of chicken eggs, some up to seven centimetres in diameter, smashed car windows and roofs.

The storm was blamed on a sudden drop in temperature in the city, from 32 degrees celcius to just 16 over the course of just a couple of hours.

Residents of the town, which sits over 3,800km from Moscow, said over 100 cars were damaged in the freak storm.

Following the downpour, the skies cleared almost as quickly as the clouds had formed.