Talk:Hail (5e Hazard)

DMs' Notes: Additional background information about hail

From 2009-2018, May and June averaged nearly 3000 reports of severe hail in the U.S. Severe hail, which the U.S. National Weather Service issues warnings for, is classified as one inch or larger (quarter-size).

A study of 154,702 severe hail reports from 1955 to 2002 in the U.S. found that 34% of the reports reported penny (0.75") or smaller sized hailstones, 42.2% reported hailstones 0.75" to 2", and 8.2% reported stones 2” (51 mm) or greater.

The majority of hail reports [in the U.S.] each year typically occur in the Plains.

A U.S. National Weather Service study examined 840 hail events in Missouri and Illinois, USA, from 1955 to 2004. The study considered only "significant" hail events with hailstones 2.00" in diameter (egg-sized) or larger. The study found that most hail storms occurred in the spring season (April-June) in the late afternoon or early evening hours, but such storms could occur at any hour of the day.

Hailstones larger than (2 to 2.5 cm) are usually considered large enough to cause damage. Storms that produce hailstones the size of dimes or larger can result in dents on cars, damage to roofs, break windows, and perhaps cause casualties. In the U.S., severe thunderstorms producing large hail cause nearly one billion dollars in damage to property and crops annually.

On June 30, 2010 a hail storm in Bozeman dropped 1½ inch diameter hail on the MSU Campus. The damage from the storm was widespread, impacting 270 buildings, and included broken windows, damaged screens, broken skylights, damaged roofs and damaged building siding. Total costs to repair the damage are estimated at $8 million. Repair work took three construction seasons (2010, 2011, 2012) involving on campus and off campus architects, consultants, project managers, trades people, and contractors.

An estimated 24 people are injured [in the U.S.] by large hail each year, according to the U.S. Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

In 1981, massive thunderstorms brought 100 mph winds, tornadoes, flash floods and grapefruit-sized hailstones of over 4.5 inches in diameter to Texas and the surrounding region, including Oklahoma, Kansas and Alabama. Twenty people died. The total estimated damage was estimated to cost $1.2 billion.

In May of 1995, 10,000 people were caught outside during Mayfest in Fort Worth, Texas, with little shelter available. More than 400 people were injured, including 60 who were seriously injured and required hospitalization.

The largest hailstone ever recovered in the United States was 8 inches in diameter and had a circumference of 18.62 inches. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), it weighed 1lb. 15 oz. and it fell in Vivian, South Dakota.

The largest reported hailstone occurred in Bangladesh in 1986 and weighed 1.02kg (2.25lb). This hailstone was part of a hailstorm that killed 92 people.

The most deadly confirmed hail event occurred in 1888 in Moradabad, India. This hail event is said to have killed as many as 246 people with hailstones as large as ‘goose eggs and oranges." "Men caught in the open and without shelter were simply pounded to death by the hail." "The police report that 1600 head of cattle, sheep, and goats were killed."

SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/hail/ https://www.torro.org.uk/research/hail/hscale https://www.montana.edu/pdc/archive/2012/hail-storm-projects.html https://weather.com/safety/thunderstorms/news/2020-05-12-15-things-to-know-about-hail https://www.weather.gov/ffc/hail https://www.weather.gov/mlb/hail_rules https://www.weather.gov/lsx/hail_climatology https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/hail-dangers-costs-20130403 https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-highest-mortality-hailstorm https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-heaviest-hailstone https://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/schaefer/hailfreq.pdf https://news.wisc.edu/curiosities-why-does-the-sky-turn-green-before-a-tornado/