Monster 7-inch hailstone confirmed as Texas state record
A hailstone picked up by a storm chaser in Texas nearly two years ago has been declared a new state record by officials.
A hailstone in Vigo Park, Texas, seen next to a Monster drink can on June 2, 2024. (NWS/Val Castor)
A massive hailstone measuring 7.1 inches in diameter has been confirmed as a new state record in Texas, nearly two years after it was discovered near Vigo Park in the Texas Panhandle following an intense thunderstorm on June 2, 2024.
Hail records confirmed by NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee typically require the stone to be preserved in a freezer so scientists can take precise measurements and weight, along with 3D images. In this case, a photograph was taken with multiple objects of a known size, and other chasers in the area corroborated reports of similar hailstones. Calculations from the photographs put the stone at just over 7 inches.
Left, a hailstone in Vigo Park, Texas, seen next to a work glove on June 2, 2024. (NWS/Val Castor). Right, geometric calculations based on the photograph. (NWS / John Nielsen-Gammon)
“As I was chasing this tornadic supercell, I started to notice large hail on the ground the size of softballs and some still falling sporadically," Storm Chaser Val Castor said of the discovery.
"I noticed what looked like a gallon jug of milk in a ditch," Castor explained. "As I got closer to it, it became apparent that it was indeed a very large hailstone. I didn’t have a tape measure, and about the only thing I had to compare it to was an empty Monster Energy drink can. I’ve seen lots of large hail in my 35 years of storm chasing, but this was by far the largest.”
The previous record-holder, a 6.4-inch-diameter hailstone that fell in Hondo, Texas, in 2021, maintains the Texas record for circumference and weight, since the 2024 hailstone was not preserved.
The thunderstorm that caused the hailstone, shown here southeast of Amarillo, Texas on June 2, 2024.
