This “gigantic” hailstone fell in Argentina in 2018.
Victoria Druetta
We often talk sportily about hail. Hail in golf ball size. Hail the size of a tennis ball. But “volleyball hail” is an unexpected phrase.
Monster hailstones fell during a storm in Argentina in 2018, one of which may have set a new world record. Penn State researchers have taken a closer look at the storm and proposed a new classification for hailstones over 6 inches: “gigantic”.
A particular hailstone recorded by the storm had a diameter between 18.5 cm and 23.6 cm. The researchers used a photo to estimate the size. The current hail record belongs to a hailstone from South Dakota from 2010 with a diameter of 20 centimeters.
The Penn State team examined images of hailstorms collected by the thunderstorm, interviewed eyewitnesses, and investigated damage at Villa Carlos Paz, a city in central Argentina.
“Such a well-observed case is an important step forward to understand the environments and storms that create gigantic hail, and ultimately to anticipate and recognize such extreme events.” said Penn State meteorologist Matthew Kumjian, Main author of a Article about the hail published this month in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
The hail doesn’t have to be as big as the storm in Argentina 2018 to significantly damage houses, vehicles and crops.
The gigantic hail conjures up images of science fiction films from the 50s with enormous horrors. “It’s incredible,” said Kumjian. “This is the very top end of what you would expect from hail.”