These pic were taken in Waziristan, a tribal area of Pakistan, 4 days ago.

Holy smokes!!! ... if it is true.

Something seems "off" about the way the panels are "bent".

Googling "Waziristan hailstorm solar panels" has a similar looking picture, but it goes to a fishy smelly bitcoin site.

I expected damage more like this:

 

This is true, it happened on 4th Oct. I am also from Pakistan. There was a hailstorm at my home as well, but the size of the hail was much smaller as compared to this. But I live in a city quite far away from where this massive hailstorm hit. I've never seen hail so big. Some more pics.

On 2018/10/07 at 9:38 AM, The Terrible Triplett said:

... way the panels are "bent".

Thank you Bluewater.  I'm still confused about the panels being  "bent" ... it is like they have a metal backing?

That the Middle east is getting some seriously extreme weather lately, like severe hailstorms and so much snow that camels get confused coupled with some serious flooding in dry arid areas, is a fact that is being ignored, not reported, in and by the mainstream media.

On 2018/10/07 at 9:38 AM, The Terrible Triplett said:

Holy smokes!!! ... if it is true.

Something seems "off" about the way the panels are "bent".

Googling "Waziristan hailstorm solar panels" has a similar looking picture, but it goes to a fishy smelly bitcoin site.

I expected damage more like this:

 

I don't think we should underestimate the forces of nature. The size of the hail in that experiment you showed is much smaller than the ones of the picture. 

Why did they bend like that? I'm not a physicist, but I suspect the force of the hail caused the glass molecules to move? Afterall, the silicon wafers underneath the glass panel are made of sand, just like the glass 

@SilverNodashi that panel picture I posted has a HUGE hole in it. Looks totally different.

No array anywhere would ever survive that ball size hail.

The array that got the massive hail damage, which is not being disputed, may have a metal backing in which then makes perfect sense. I have just never seen metal backing on solar panels.

Balls that size coming down at probably terminal velocity - nothing can stop that bar a concrete roof, inside a cave. Can only imagine the peoples houses / roofs in that area, their cars ... livestock and worse of all people caught out in the open. 

Holy smokes is all I can say.

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

@SilverNodashi that panel picture I posted has a HUGE hole in it. Looks totally different.

No array anywhere would ever survive that ball size hail.

The array that got the massive hail damage, which is not being disputed, may have a metal backing in which then makes perfect sense. I have just never seen metal backing on solar panels.

Balls that size coming down at probably terminal velocity - nothing can stop that bar a concrete roof, inside a cave. Can only imagine the peoples houses / roofs in that area, their cars ... livestock and worse of all people caught out in the open. 

Holy smokes is all I can say.

Two, or three years ago we had some hail damage in the area. One of the schools were hit badly. Hail went straight through both a metal roof in one class and a tile roof in another class, damaging desks and chairs inside the class. Luckily it was on Friday afternoon. A friend's Nissan Navara also got hit very badly, inside his garage. They have a pitched tile roof. Had to replace the roof, ceilings, lights, etc. It looks like the bakkie stood outside at the time. I don't have picks anymore. 

On 2018/10/08 at 12:55 PM, SilverNodashi said:

I don't think we should underestimate the forces of nature. The size of the hail in that experiment you showed is much smaller than the ones of the picture. 

Why did they bend like that? I'm not a physicist, but I suspect the force of the hail caused the glass molecules to move? Afterall, the silicon wafers underneath the glass panel are made of sand, just like the glass 

Yes, the force of the hail caused the class molecules to move, the same way your molecules move when you walk 😛.

It is most likely due to the RTV used to fill the space between the PV cell and the glass as well as the backing. A solar panel is more like a laminate car windshield than a solid sheet of glass.