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posted by Fnord666 on Friday May 01 2020, @06:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the need-a-stronger-umbrella dept.

'Gargantuan' hail in Argentina may have smashed world record:

A supercell thunderstorm pelted a city center in Argentina a few years ago with hailstones so large scientists suggested a new category to describe them — gargantuan hail.

Researchers investigating the 2018 storm found one hailstone likely measured between 7.4 and 9.3 inches across, potentially setting a new world record. The current record belongs to a hailstone that measured 8 inches across, or about the size of a volleyball, that fell near Vivian, South Dakota.

"It's incredible," said Matthew Kumjian, associate professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmosphere Science at Penn State. "This is the extreme upper end of what you'd expect from hail."

The scientists proposed hail larger than 6 inches should be classified as gargantuan, and said more awareness of these events, while rare, could help piece together a better understanding of the dangerous storms.

"Anything larger than about a quarter in size can start putting dents into your car," Kumjian said. "In some rare cases, 6-inch hail has actually gone through roofs and multiple floors in houses. We'd like to help mitigate the impacts on life and property, to help anticipate these kinds of events."

The storm in heavily populated Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina, offered scientists a rare opportunity to study a well-documented case of gargantuan hail. As the storm unfolded, residents took to social media, posting pictures and videos.

Hail typically occurs during severe storms, which produce strong, sustained updrafts. The winds hold hailstones aloft long enough to grow in sub-zero temperatures high in the atmosphere. But predicting hail size remains challenging, the scientists said.

Journal Reference:
Matthew R. Kumjian, Rachel Gutierrez, et al. "Gargantuan Hail in Argentina", Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Vol. 101, No. 4 (2020), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0012.1

See the PDF of the report for the full analysis. Scroll down to the end for pictures of the three largest gargantuan hail they included in their report. One of the hail stones weighed over a pound (~ 1/2 kilogram)!


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 01 2020, @09:31AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 01 2020, @09:31AM (#988851)

    Anyone know what the terminal velocity is for these things? I wonder how anybody lives through a hailstorm of this magnitude.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 01 2020, @11:39AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 01 2020, @11:39AM (#988867)

    >> Anyone know what the terminal velocity is for these things?

    What do you mean? African or European?

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Kitsune008 on Friday May 01 2020, @05:08PM

    by Kitsune008 (9054) on Friday May 01 2020, @05:08PM (#989045)

    Not near enough data to calculate terminal velocity is presented. Just looking at the pics of the largest ones, I can't imagine coming up with an accurate ballistic coefficient to input into the equations.

    But mentioned in TFS:

    "Anything larger than about a quarter in size can start putting dents into your car," Kumjian said. "In some rare cases, 6-inch hail has actually gone through roofs and multiple floors in houses."

    and:

    One of the hail stones weighed over a pound (~ 1/2 kilogram)!

    So, my guess would be that you would have little chance of living through one of these hailstorms if not under cover.(military definition of cover)