For the second time in a month hail has hit some of the region's orchards, but the damage is more localised and less severe.

Yesterday afternoon a violent storm front swept across the Waimea Plains and sent down hail for a short time across the fruitgrowing area near Hope.

Riwaka, which bore the brunt of the previous devastation, was spared, with damage confined to a handful of properties.

Growers were out assessing their orchards this morning.

The large Vailima Orchard was one of the most affected but owner Richard Hoddy said apples on the more resilient varieties were not harmed and the event was nothing like the Riwaka hailstorm, which pummelled trees and fruit for almost an hour.

"A lot of our varieties are OK. It hailed for about seven minutes with rain but they weren't very big hailstones and they were relatively soft. We haven't got a lot of cuts [to apples], we've got mainly bruises."

He said the damage would "make life a lot harder" but he had a good crop and it could have been much worse.

Wai-West Horticulture director Nick Patterson said his orchard suffered only light damage in one corner but he knew others in the Pughs Rd-Main Rd Hope area were hit harder.

However, it was still serious for those who were affected, Patterson said.

Hail also fell briefly on parts of the Nelson and Richmond urban area.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/