A hailstone measuring more than 5 inches at its thickets point and weighing in at more than a half-pound may be Alabama’s largest on record.
The hailstone was collected by Cullman Tribune reporter W.C. Mann Monday night after severe thunderstorms pelted Cullman county with destructive hail. The day after on Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologists from the Huntsville office were out surveying tornado damage and gathering data. But they also stopped by the community of Walter, Alabama to view this hailstone.
NWS Huntsville wrote a summary about the hailstone saying that there is no official record for largest hail in Alabama, but combing through “Storm Data” they found the largest diameter to be 4.25 inches. Tap/click here to read the office’s report.
What happens next? Well, the measurements are being sent to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and if the information is made official, this will be Alabama’s largest hailstone ever recorded. By the way, the largest hailstone in any state was 8.0″ in diameter, 18.6″ in circumference, and weighed 1.93 pounds! That stone fell on July 23, 2010 in Vivian, South Dakota.
Hail forms within strong updrafts in thunderstorms. Quickly-rising air causes the hail to form and tosses it around within the cloud, continually growing until it becomes too heavy to be supported by the updraft. Then it falls to the ground. What fell on Monday night in parts of Alabama, especially Cullman, was destructive hail.
Many took to social media to show the large hail that they saw.
Hail falls in Ripley, MS Monday afternoon
That's not snow… That's HAIL! Severe storms are pushing through the Southeast at this hour. This storm in Northern Mississippi covered the ground with hail this afternoon. Make sure to stay tuned to WeatherNation as we bring you LIVE coverage of these dangerous storms.
Posted by WeatherNation on Monday, March 19, 2018
Cars were not match for the large hail in Alabama Monday. Strong storms dropped very large dangerous hail in Cullman, AL. These storms look to stay robust tonight and into Tuesday. Stay weather aware! #Hail #SevereWeather pic.twitter.com/UQiJclKgHP
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) March 20, 2018
Many towns in the Southeast saw large hail as severe storms rolled through this evening. This video comes from northern Alabama as a resident watches as their car gets hit with hail.
Posted by WeatherNation on Monday, March 19, 2018
HAIL DAMAGE: We are getting many reports tonight of hail damage in Cullman, Alabama. Seen here is a windshield damaged during the hail storm.
Posted by WeatherNation on Monday, March 19, 2018
At least we are still alive…I’ve never seen hail so big! The noise was unreal and seemed to last forever…I’m certain…
Posted by Paul Downs on Monday, March 19, 2018
For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier