Hail stones as big as golf balls and winds of 90km per hour and more swept across the Eyre Peninsula on Monday, from Elliston, through Lock, Rudall, Verran, Arno Bay, Cleve and Yabmana, causing thousands of dollars of damage to homes, sheds and vehicles.

But it’s local grain farmers who will bear the brunt of the damage, with millions of dollars of crops destroyed by the violent storms.

While agricultural insurers are not ready to estimate the damage, some farmers at Cleve, Rudall and Lock were hit so hard that they’re ready to write the season off.

“I’ve never seen hail damage to this extent,” Elders Cleve agronomist Cherylynn Dreckow said. “It is heartbreaking to see crops get to this point in the season and have them wiped out by such a freak event.

“However, I am hopeful that these farmers will have adequate insurance to cover their losses.”

Ms Dreckow reported widespread hail damage from small hail stones across the region, along with narrow strips of severe crop damage from hail measuring around three to four centimetres in diametre, from Lock to Cleve

“These crops will be barely, if at all recoverable. They are broken off or bent over like a large mob of sheep have gone through paddocks.”

During Monday’s storm, Cleve received almost three millimetres of rain before lunch time, with rain continuing over Tuesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported a temperature drop of down to eight degrees celcius as a precursor to the hail.