Heavy Hailstorms

[damianslaw]

As we approach the spring season and when we begin to see hail vecome a feature of showers, I just thought it be interesting to start a thread to discuss episodes of heavy hailstorms in years gone by. I have a book that talks about some hailstorms being so heavy and the hail so big that it looked like snow had fallen. Would be great if anyone has any images of heavy hailstorms from years gone by. Always one of the more exciting weather scenes of the summer is a thick white carpet suddenly appearing on hot summer afternoons courtesy of hail and thunder only to quickly clear in the heat of the sun as soon as it arrived.

[J10]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7700167.stm

[Snowyowl9]

Large soft hailstones showers in april are nice to see,had one yesterday coming down gently.

[MP-R]

Some events that stick out all contained thunder and lightning as well and they are: 1st March 2003, 30th April 2003, 9th March 2006, 11th March 2008. The thunderstorm on the 30th April 2003 was absolutely stunning with torrential rain and hail for over half an hour that led to some quite significant flash flooding.

[Thundery wintry showers]

There was a huge hailstorm with thunder in the second week of April last year in Norwich, which led to about 2cm of hail cover on the UEA campus. The hail was pea-sized.

From records in Tyneside, the first recording I have of a major hailstorm in April was on 20 April 1995, with that classic polar NW'ly regime setup, and a big hailstorm that afternoon deposited an inch of hail cover. The weather also turned hazy around that time as the hail melted and evaporation levels were high. The 12th April 1999 also had a similarly big hailstorm with an inch of cover.

Mays have also featured a few big hailstorms. The period 11-13 May 1999 had many heavy convective storms with hail and thunder, 18 May 2000 had thunder and large hail, and 7 and 8 May 2005 had large hail with thunder. During a thundery day in Leeds on 12 May 2006, a big hailstorm was reported just to the east of where I was, near York, and the trails of hail could clearly be seen from the cumulonimbus cloud.

The largest hailstones seem, though, to be those that affect East Anglia and the southeast in summer, typically from showery polar airstreams or Spanish plumes, with a famous example of the latter on 7 June 1996.

[Lettucing Gutted]

What is the highest near surface air temperature that can allow hail to accumulate as a cover on the ground?

Edited April 4, 2009 by Craig Evans

[Andy Bown]

What is the highest near surface air temperature that can allow hail to accumulate as a cover on the ground?

I'd assume it depends how heavy the hail is. Even in mid-summer with, say, hail during a thunderstorm and temperatures 25c+ it would accumulate but melt faster than on cooler days.

[knocker]

http://news.bbc.co.u...von/7700167.stm

Just to add a bit more to this.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/oct2008/index.html

The infrared image shows the wintry storm that brought extensive flooding to the Ottery St Mary area of East Devon. Courtesy Dundee Satellite Receiving Station.