Monster Hailstone Drops On Hawaii

The 4.25 inch hailstone -- a Hawaiian record -- was produced by a very rare supercell thunderstorm that also generated a tornado.

news.discovery.com...

A grapefruit-size hailstone that pummeled Oahu during a hailstorm this month has now been confirmed as the largest on record for the state of Hawaii, announced officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A final measurement of the hailstone, which dropped from the skies on March 9, places it at 4.25 inches long, 2.25 inches tall and 2 inches wide (10.8 by 5.7 by 5 centimeters).

"According to hail report records for Hawaii kept back to 1950, the previous state record hailstone was 1 inch in diameter," Michael Cantin, warning coordination meteorologist at NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) in Honolulu, said in a statement. The NWS, along with NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee confirmed the new state record

Last year I had hail a little larger than a golfball destroy my roof, skylights, and siding on my house. I can't imagine the destruction that could be possible from hail this size.

I have a gut feeling that we'll be seeing some serious storms this year judging from the mild winter we have had. It won't surprise me if other states set some new records as well.

Be safe out there, and watch the skies.

Dam, that would kill anyone if it hit them in the head. I have been to Hawaii and storms there are pretty rare from what they say.

Wow. I've seen some pretty big hail stones, but that thing is just wicked looking! I'm pretty sure if that were to hit someone in the head, especially a child or an elderly person, it would cause some serious damage. I'm also a bit anxious about this year's tornado season because the winter here was very mild, the warmest I can recall ever experiencing. I guess we'll be finding out soon...

. Incredible, especially since ice and Hawaii are two words I don't usually associate with each other in the context of weather! I've never seen hail larger than about a centimeter diameter. Interesting times, indeed.

EDIT: ROFLMAO at the post below mine.

Is it on Ebay yet?

Gosh, Hawaii even has pretty hail stones!

Very unusual.

www.wrcc.dri.edu...
Hail falls somewhere in Hawaii between five and ten times in the average year. Almost always it is quite small – one-fourth inch or less in diameter – but on several occasions hail the size of marbles, and discs about five-eights of an inch in diameter, have been reported. Trees and leafy crops have been battered by hail from time to time, but this is an infrequent occurrence and the area affected are small. Many lifelong residents of Hawaii have never experience hail in these islands.

What would a 100lb hailstone look like? And how large would it be?

That thing is crazy looking and crazy big. I lived in South Dakota and never saw anything quite that big. Even living in WA now, I can't recal seeing anything that big before. Weather is wonky these days! It looks awesome though.

Even rarer than I thought.

news.discovery.com...

In fact, since records began, there have been no reports of hail larger than an inch in diameter; penny-size (just under an inch) or quarter-size (1 inch in diameter) hailstones, have been reported just eight times in Hawaii. Conditions needed to produce supercell thunderstorms, and thus to form large hailstones, the size of golf balls and baseballs, are rare in Hawaii.