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Giant hailstones pummel Queensland, likely the largest seen in Australia since records began

ByTeo Blašković
giant-hailstones-pummel-queensland-likely-the-largest-seen-in-australia-since-records-began

Image credit:  John Caporn

Severe thunderstorms hit parts of Queensland, Australia on October 18 and 19, 2021, bringing heavy rain, giant hailstones, and tornadoes. The largest hail was reported in Bloomsbury and Yalboroo, north of Mackay in North Queensland on October 19.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Shane Kennedy said they've seen some convincing images of hail up against a tape measure of 16 cm (6.29 inches). 

The Australian record is around 14 cm (5.5 inches) mark, Kennedy said, adding that it looks like they have a new Australian record for hail.1

Hail that size has a terminal velocity of well over 100 kmh (62 mph).

The world record for the largest hail is 23.59 cm (9.29 inches) recorded in 2018 in the town of Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina.2

This is the same system that brought wild weather, including two tornadoes in the Darling Downs region on October 18.

References:

1 BOM says 'Australian record'-sized hailstones have fallen on North Queensland – ABC

2 Unofficial world record for largest hailstone set on February 8 – 23 cm (9 inches) in Cordoba, Argentina – The Watchers

Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.

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  2. You might find what God’s word says about a coming hailstorm…Revelation 16:21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. (BTW, a talent of weight is approximately 80 lbs. source; Easton’s Bible Dictionary.)

    3. The hailstorm in Revelation 16:21 will occur at some point during the 7 year tribulation. The Time of Jacob’s trouble. Thank God the believers will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb of God with Christ Jesus and his bride, the born again believers after the Lord descends with a shout from heaven and we are caught up to meet him in the air.

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