Largest hailstone ever?

[dmckemy]

So I was just curious as to what the largest hailstone ever recorded was, and as usual, I referred to wikipedia for answers. Apparently, in Aurora, Nebraska, they measured a 7 inch hailstone that fell on June 22, 2003. That's quite the hailstone!

Now naturally, I wanted to check the SPC reports for that day and see what they had to say about a 7 inch hailstone...however, if you look at the reports for that day, the largest hailstone mentioned is 4.5 inches (though it mentions holes in neighbors roofs big enough to climb through...so they must've been a little larger). Any reason why the SPC would not include this 7 inch monster in the reports? I've seen the SPC refer to the media/news for spotting stuff before, so even if the guy himself did not report this to the SPC, I'm sure the media/news would have reported it.

Also, just out of curiosity, but what kind of updraft would you need to support that large of a hailstone?

 

[Jay Cazel]

Here is a report about that hail stone from the SPC.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/guyer/aurora.pdf

Also if I recall Jim Reed took photos of it.

 

[dmckemy]

Jay: Thanks for posting that! Still curious though...why won't the SPC update the reports page for that day to include the 7 inch hailstone?

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Those are just preliminary reports and they are not updated after the time they were submitted as LSRs.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

http://www.ucar.edu/communications/factsheets/Hail.html

That one looks more impressive!

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

If I'm not mistaken that Aurora record was either strongly challenged and/or beat by a storm near the NE/SD border (just North of O'Neill) in 07. I was chasing that day but looking back for whatever reason (likely b/c nothing to exciting occurred) I didn't make an account on my site, and I can't think of the date off the top of my head. Others will know it right away. I recall it being a mega CAPE day, with all the composite parameters way up there.

 

[Justin Wiley]

I'm assuming when these gigantic stones hit the ground they shatter or break at some capacity, right?

Is it safe to assume that these big hailstones could have conceivably been larger before ground impact?

 

[David Enstad]

I can honestly say that I would be just fine if I made it all the way through the rest of my life without ever seeing a 7" hail stone in person! I think my truck would feel the same way.

 

[mikedeason]

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/gid/?n=aurorahailstorm

 

[Kyle Soldani]

Those are amazing, I cannot imagine what sort of damage those would do..

 

[Kiel Ortega]

If I'm not mistaken that Aurora record was either strongly challenged and/or beat by a storm near the NE/SD border (just North of O'Neill) in 07. I was chasing that day but looking back for whatever reason (likely b/c nothing to exciting occurred) I didn't make an account on my site, and I can't think of the date off the top of my head. Others will know it right away. I recall it being a mega CAPE day, with all the composite parameters way up there.

That was the Dante storm on 21 August 2007. We noticed the storm down here in Norman at NSSL and so we used some plat maps to call rural farms around Dante. We thought we had gotten a 7" stone but the official measurement done by the SD state climatologist was 6 7/8". Still ridiculous. Talking with the some of the folks up there they swear volleyball sized stones were falling. One farmer even reported hail punching through the roof of his tractor. NWS page HERE on the event

 

[mikedeason]

I lived about 15 miles west of Aurora at the time, near Grand Island, and was chasing that day (this was also the day of the Deshler, NE tornado associated with an extremely intense mesocyclone which is another story in itself.) There were reports of volleyball sized hail with the Aurora cell as well. There was quite a few roofs destroyed by the hail, some of which actually penetrated the OSB sheating. IIRC correctly, a post storm survey revealed that there were several ground indentations up to 12" in diameter and 3 inches deep in places.

 

[joel ewing]

My cousin has a horse ranch 10e and 10n of O'Neill, Nebraska. I've spent quite a bit of time around there. Love it to pieces. There is (or was-fiscally it was on the ropes) a large, hydroponic tomato growing outfit west of there. They actually have a "hail-cannon"! I've seen it in person, and walked around it with the head guy of the place. It is supposed to break up hail prior to it falling down and wiping out their totally-glass enclosed tomato facility. My cousins claim that even that thing is over 10 miles away from them.....it's ear shattering.
I'm not surprised that Holt County has perhaps the record hailstone. Lots of active weather of all kinds around that area...it's an alley within an alley.