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With hail season kicking off last weekend, we thought it would be an appropriate time to share some information about hail, how it forms, sizes of hail formations, potential damages, etc. Listed below is some information gathered from NOAA to help inform our audience about those damaging little chunks of ice that fall from the sky. For more information on how you can prepare for hail, please contact the leader in commercial roofing in west Texas...contact PDS Inc. @ 806 771-9780 or 800 PDS-4304.
How Hail Forms
- Inside of a thunderstorm are strong updrafts of warm air and downdrafts of cold air.
- If a water droplet is picked up by the updrafts...it can be carried well above the freezing level. With temperatures below 32F...our water droplet freezes.
- As the frozen droplet begins to fall...carried by cold downdrafts...it may thaw as it moves into warmer air toward the bottom of the thunderstorm
- But...our little half-frozen droplet may also get picked up again by another updraft...carrying it back into very cold air and re-freezing it. With each trip above and below the freezing level our frozen droplet adds another layer of ice.
- Finally...our frozen water droplet...with many layers of ice - much like the rings in a tree...falls to the ground - as hail!
How large can hail get?
Fortunately...most hail is small - usually less than 2 inches in diameter.
The largest hailstone fell on June 23, 2003 in Aurora, Nebraska and had a diameter of 7.0 inches, a circumference of 18.75 inches, and weighed just under 1 lb. The heaviest hailstone fell in Coffeeville, Kansas on September3, 1970 and weighed 1.67 lbs. It had a diameter of 5.7 inches and a circumference of 17.5 inches.
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Is there a way to estimate hail size...or do I have to go outside and measure it?
- It's often difficult to get an accurate measurement of hail diameter - especially when it's falling
- The table to the right helps observers estimate the size of hail based on average diameters of common items
- When in doubt - play it safe and wait until the thunderstorm has moved away before going outside to measure the size of hail
Estimating Hail Size
- Pea = 1/4 inch diameter
- Marble/mothball = 1/2 inch diameter
- Dime/Penny = 3/4 inch diameter - hail penny size or larger is considered severe
- Nickel = 7/8 inch
- Quarter = 1 inch
- Ping-Pong Ball = 1 1/2 inch
- Golf Ball = 1 3/4 inches
- Tennis Ball = 2 1/2 inches
- Baseball = 2 3/4 inches
- Tea cup = 3 inches
- Grapefruit = 4 inches
- Softball = 4 1/2 inches
Should I be concerned about tornadoes when hail is observed?
The presence of large hail indicates very strong updrafts and downdrafts within the thunderstorm. These are also possible indicators of tornadic activity.
Often large hail is observed immediately north of a tornado track - but the presence of hail doesn't always mean a tornado and the absence of hail doesn't always mean there isn't a risk of tornadoes. The presence of large hail indicates very strong updrafts and downdrafts within the thunderstorm. These are also possible indicators of tornadic activity. Is there a way to simply look at a
thunderstorm and tell if it will produce hail at the ground?
- There is no positive way to look at a thunderstorm in the distance and tell if it will produce hail reaching the ground.
- Meteorologists use weather radar to "look" inside a thunderstorm. Since hail reflects more energy back to the radar than raindrops it often shows up in red shades.
- The WSR-88D Doppler Radar can also estimate size of the hail based on the amount of energy reflected back.
For information on how you can prepare for hailstorms, contact Property Development Solutions @ 800-737-4304 or visit our website @ www.pdscompany.com
