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When it comes to hail stones, 
size really does matter

By Eric Shackle

Just how big is a hailstone? Official weather reports have described them as being the size of footballs, softballs, grapefruit, teacups, baseballs, tennis balls, hen eggs, golf balls, walnuts, ping pong balls, half dollars, quarters, nickels, pennies, large marbles, small marbles, peas, or mere rice.

A hailstone the size of a football  hurtled down at 90  mph (140 km/hr) towards terrified residents of Coffeyville, Kansas on September 3, 1970. It was the largest hailstone ever recorded in the U.S., measuring about 17.5 inches (44 cm) in circumference and weighing more than 750 grams (26 ounces).

"During the storm, several brave (but not very bright) citizens snatched up stones using football helmets and other gear for protection," said the Coffeyville Community College's Web site , which also displayed a picture of one of the giant stones. The Coffeyville stone was collected and stored under special conditions. A plaster cast replica still causes people to gasp at its size.

Hailstones form when strong updrafts in thunderstorms carry water droplets high into the atmosphere. As the temperature drops below freezing, the water droplets become supercooled. The supercooled water then freezes into a tiny hailstone. More supercooled water freezes onto the hailstone as it rides the updrafts in the storm. When hailstones weigh enough to overcome the force of the updraft, they fall to the ground as hail.

Internet searchers wanting to see a photograph of a giant hailstone should take a look at tornado chaser Gene Moore's Web site . 

"Generally, the larger the stones the fewer of them fall," notes Gene. "Small hail up to marble size can get inches deep on the ground. In rare instances snow plows must be called out to clear hail during the summer months. Very large stones, baseball and larger tend to fall in a more isolated manner. In some instances chasers have driven miles through baseball-sized hail and not lost windshields. It's mainly luck. A quick dash to the nearest underpass is the best bet."

Violent spring weather

In the US, spring time, especially April, is a time for violent weather. The sun has moved across the equator and is heading north, warming the continent. At the same time, low pressure cells can be found further south, a relic of winter conditions, and when combined with the warmth of spring, their frontal systems can be wicked. 

In the southern hemisphere, in Australia for instance, spring is also a violent time of year with thunderstorms producing hail. However, the worst hail storm to hit Sydney for more than 200 years occurred in April, 1999, Australia's autumn season.

These extracts from a U.S. Government Web site  recount unusual weather records for the month of April in past years:

April 23, 1885: Denver Colorado was in the midst of a storm which produced 23 inches of snow in 24 hours and at Idaho Springs, Colorado, the storm created 32 inches of snow.

April 24, 1899: Two women and one boy lived to tell the story of being picked up by a tornado and carried more than a fourth of a mile, flying far above the church steeples, before being gently set down again. The young boy and one of the ladies said they had the pleasure of flying alongside a horse. The horse 'kicked and struggled' as it flew high above, and was set down unharmed about a mile away.

April 15, 1949: A hailstone five inches by five and a half inches in size, and weighing four pounds, was measured at Troy NY.

April 7, 1980: Severe thunderstorms spawned tornadoes which ripped through central Arkansas. The severe thunderstorms also produce high winds and baseball size hail. Five counties were declared disaster areas by President Carter.

April 23, 1987: Thunderstorms in the Atlantic coast region produced golf ball size hail and wind gusts to 67 mph at Anderson South Carolina. The high winds destroyed two planes at the airport, and the large hail damaged 50 other planes, and severely damaged 23 greenhouses.

April 25, 1988: Hail damage in Alabama was estimated at fifty million dollars. Hail four and a half inches in diameter  (112mm) was reported south of Atlanta Georgia.

April 24, 1989: Twenty cities in the central US reported record high temperatures for the date. Russell, Kansas was the hot spot in the nation with a reading of 101 degrees F. Evening thunderstorms produced severe weather from Colorado to Wisconsin. Hail four and a half inches in diameter was reported at Sargeant, Nebraska..

April 26, 1989: Thunderstorms produced severe weather from the lower and middle Mississippi Valley to Virginia and the Carolinas. Hail up to four and a half inches in diameter caused five million dollars damage around Omaha Nebraska. Thunderstorms spawned 11 tornadoes, and there were 160 other reports of large hail and damaging winds.

April 16, 1990: Thunderstorms produced baseball size hail south of Carney, and wind gusts to 100 mph in the Oklahoma City area which swept away many federal tax returns being transported from a mail cart to a waiting truck about the time of the midnight deadline.

April 27, 1990: Eighty-five reports of large hail and damaging winds, with baseball size hail reported at Mexia Texas and Shreveport Louisiana.

OFFICIAL SCALE FOR HAIL
From the National Weather Service Skywarn Web page

Trends in hail in the United States

According to Stanley Changnon, Chief Emeritus & Principal Scientist, Illinois State Water Survey, Mahomet, IL.

Hail causes considerable damage to US crops and property, occasionally causes death to farm animals, but seldom causes loss of human life... Crop hail losses in recent years nationally are estimated at $1.3 billion annually, representing between 1 and 2 percent of the annual crop value. Property losses caused by hail have been increasing with time, now appearing to approximate crop-hail losses in recent years with crudely estimated annual losses of $1 billion.

... And in Canada
From the  University of Alberta Libraries' Web site 

The largest insurance loss in Canada, $400 million, was caused by the September 7, 1991 hailstorm in Calgary  where $210 million was paid for hail damage to houses, and most of the remaining $190 million was paid for hail damage to automobiles.  Estimates suggested that the insured loss caused by the floods in the Saguenay region of Quebec in July, 1996 may exceed the record set by the Calgary hailstorm. During the summer of 1996, destructive hailstorms struck Calgary twice and Winnipeg once.

Eric Shackle is a retired journalist now living on the central coast of New South Wales. He spends much of his spare time surfing the Internet and writing about it. His articles have been published by leading newspapers including the New York Times, the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Sydney Morning Herald and, in Singapore, The Straits Times.

Copyright © 2000.  Eric Shackle. 

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