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Was Largest Hail Stone Record Broken Friday?

Jul 25, 2010; 12:22 PM ET

UPDATE 8/12: Here is the official story from NOAA - calling it "volleyball-sized hail." The stone won for diameter and weight, but not circumference. And it had melted some.

UPDATE 1 PM 7/28: A trusted inside source who was on the call with the National Climate Extremes Committee today says that they will issue a statement that the 7/23 hail stone sets a new national record for both weight and diameter.

UPDATE 7/28: Although I haven't seen an official statement yet, it sounds like the NWS is saying that this stone did indeed set a new record weight for hail, according to this article with pictures and video of the stones and the damage that they caused.

UPDATE 7/27: The NWS is investigating the report today.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Thanks to Facebook friend Dann C. for pointing this out. The National Weather Service in Aberdeen, South Dakota has some photos of a very large hailstone that fell in Vivian, SD on Friday. Just looking at the pictures, it would appear that this stone has broken the record for diameter and circumference that was previously set in Aurora, Nebraska in 2003.

The 2003 hailstone was 7 inches in diameter, having a circumference of 18.75 inches. The new hailstone would appear to have a maximum diameter of around 8 inches and a circumference of about 19 (if the beginning of the tape measure is zero). Of course, we'd have to wait for the NOAA Climate Extremes Committee to ratify a new record, which could take months or years, and it's possible this might set a new diameter or weight record but not circumference.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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