‘Gargantuan’ hail over 6 inches wide may be new record
By
Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated May 7, 2021 3:16 PM EST
It has been over a week since a major hailstorm pelted part of southern Texas, and as people continue to work with their insurance companies in the aftermath of the billion-dollar disaster, meteorologists are investigating potentially record-setting chunks of ice that fell that day.
Hailstones larger than grapefruits were reported around Hondo, Texas, located about 40 miles west of San Antonio, in the wake of an intense storm on Wednesday, April 28. The hail was so large that it busted through the ceiling of a house in the area.
One photo that floated around social media showed a quarter on a table that was dwarfed by one of the massive hailstones. The only problem was, the photo did not show a ruler nearby to accurately measure the size of the stone, so Matthew Kumjian stepped in.
Kumjian is an Associate Professor of Meteorology at Penn State University and used a method called photogrammetry to estimate the size of the hailstone given the known size of the quarter.
“I tried to account for the camera's perspective by measuring two axes of the quarter,” Kumjian told AccuWeather in an email. “Then, I used the outlines of the quarter across what I thought was the maximum dimension of the hailstone.”
Based on this method, the hailstone is estimated to have been between 6.27 and 6.57 inches in diameter.
Unfortunately, this particular hailstone was not saved, but Kumjian’s estimate proved to be accurate.
A team from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) coordinated with the NWS to analyze another massive hailstone that fell in Hondo on April 28 that was preserved.
This organization has confirmed state record hailstones in Colorado and Alabama and has used specialized equipment to 3D print the hail to aid with hail research long after the ice has melted.
Weighing in at 1.26 pounds, the hailstone was found to have a diameter of 6.4 inches.
Hail this large far exceeds the criteria to be called severe, which is considered to be 1 inch in diameter, or roughly the size of a quarter. In the rare instance that hail reaches 6 inches in diameter, it is classified as gargantuan.
“‘Gargantuan’ hail is officially hail with maximum dimensions greater than or equal to 6 inches,” Kumjian said.
An incredibly large hailstone that fell in Hondo, Texas, on April 28, 2021. (Image/Carol Twilligear)
Now that the size of the gargantuan hail has been verified, the NWS is helping with an investigation to determine if it is indeed the largest hailstone ever to land in Texas.
“We are still working with the state climatologist to find any conclusions on state records, since there is not an official state record hailstone on the books,” Paul Yura told AccuWeather in an email. Yura is a warning coordination meteorologist at the Austin-San Antonio National Weather Service (NWS) office.
“We will have to go back through all the storm records going back decades, get a group together to discuss, etc.,” he added. “Basically it's not a quick process.”
Even if this hailstone does not set a record, the research and investigations during the process will likely result in an official hail record in Texas being declared.
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While the Hondo hailstorm could end up being a record for Texas, it is far away from the United States hail record.
According to the National Climate Extremes Committee (NCEE), a hailstone with a diameter of 8 inches was confirmed in Vivian, South Dakota, that fell on July 23, 2010, but the stone was likely much larger when it hit the ground.
“When initially collected after the storm, the stone had a reported diameter of 11 inches, but deteriorated in the observer's freezer owing to a loss of power after the storm,” the NCEE explained.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Severe Weather
‘Gargantuan’ hail over 6 inches wide may be new record
By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated May 7, 2021 3:16 PM EST
It has been over a week since a major hailstorm pelted part of southern Texas, and as people continue to work with their insurance companies in the aftermath of the billion-dollar disaster, meteorologists are investigating potentially record-setting chunks of ice that fell that day.
Hailstones larger than grapefruits were reported around Hondo, Texas, located about 40 miles west of San Antonio, in the wake of an intense storm on Wednesday, April 28. The hail was so large that it busted through the ceiling of a house in the area.
One photo that floated around social media showed a quarter on a table that was dwarfed by one of the massive hailstones. The only problem was, the photo did not show a ruler nearby to accurately measure the size of the stone, so Matthew Kumjian stepped in.
Kumjian is an Associate Professor of Meteorology at Penn State University and used a method called photogrammetry to estimate the size of the hailstone given the known size of the quarter.
“I tried to account for the camera's perspective by measuring two axes of the quarter,” Kumjian told AccuWeather in an email. “Then, I used the outlines of the quarter across what I thought was the maximum dimension of the hailstone.”
Based on this method, the hailstone is estimated to have been between 6.27 and 6.57 inches in diameter.
Unfortunately, this particular hailstone was not saved, but Kumjian’s estimate proved to be accurate.
A team from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) coordinated with the NWS to analyze another massive hailstone that fell in Hondo on April 28 that was preserved.
This organization has confirmed state record hailstones in Colorado and Alabama and has used specialized equipment to 3D print the hail to aid with hail research long after the ice has melted.
Weighing in at 1.26 pounds, the hailstone was found to have a diameter of 6.4 inches.
Hail this large far exceeds the criteria to be called severe, which is considered to be 1 inch in diameter, or roughly the size of a quarter. In the rare instance that hail reaches 6 inches in diameter, it is classified as gargantuan.
“‘Gargantuan’ hail is officially hail with maximum dimensions greater than or equal to 6 inches,” Kumjian said.
An incredibly large hailstone that fell in Hondo, Texas, on April 28, 2021. (Image/Carol Twilligear)
Now that the size of the gargantuan hail has been verified, the NWS is helping with an investigation to determine if it is indeed the largest hailstone ever to land in Texas.
“We are still working with the state climatologist to find any conclusions on state records, since there is not an official state record hailstone on the books,” Paul Yura told AccuWeather in an email. Yura is a warning coordination meteorologist at the Austin-San Antonio National Weather Service (NWS) office.
“We will have to go back through all the storm records going back decades, get a group together to discuss, etc.,” he added. “Basically it's not a quick process.”
Even if this hailstone does not set a record, the research and investigations during the process will likely result in an official hail record in Texas being declared.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
While the Hondo hailstorm could end up being a record for Texas, it is far away from the United States hail record.
According to the National Climate Extremes Committee (NCEE), a hailstone with a diameter of 8 inches was confirmed in Vivian, South Dakota, that fell on July 23, 2010, but the stone was likely much larger when it hit the ground.
“When initially collected after the storm, the stone had a reported diameter of 11 inches, but deteriorated in the observer's freezer owing to a loss of power after the storm,” the NCEE explained.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo