Giant hailstone in Texas sets record as state’s biggest

A destructive hailstorm that hit southern Texas on April 28, 2021, dropped a giant hailstone with a remarkable size of 16.3 cm (6.4 inches) in diameter — now confirmed as the state's largest hailstone on record, according to NOAA/NWS.

On April 28, a powerful line of storms brought tornadoes, flooding, and hail to the southern U.S., leaving a trail of destruction and 28 000 customers without power. Reports show that damages amounted to a billion dollars. 

On May 6, hail experts from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety worked with NWS San Antonio to perform a 3D scan of the hailstone.

In a new report, the NOAA/NWS confirmed that a giant hailstone measuring 16.3 cm (6.4 inches) that hit Hondo, Texas, was the state's biggest on record. 

"After reviewing the observational and meteorological evidence, the means and method of measurement, and previously documented stones, the SCEC unanimously agreed that the hailstone retrieved near Hondo on 28 April 2021 would set the inaugural SCEC record for the State of Texas in four metrics."

Further details show that the hail circumference is 50.1 cm (19.73 inches) and weighs 0.57 kg (1.26 lbs). 

On May 12, an ad hoc State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) of meteorologists and scientists convened to analyze the evidence and past historical records and also confirmed that the Hondo hailstone was the state's biggest. 

Unofficially, a hailstone between 15 and 20 cm (6 and 8 inches) in diameter hit Gay Hill, Texas, on December 6, 1892. Another storm on May 31, 1960, may have dumped hail of up to 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter. 

Featured image credit: NOAA NCEI Climate