For those of us living in areas like Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, hail is a real threat. The icy balls are created when raindrops are carried up by thunderstorm updrafts, freezing as they reach cold areas of the atmosphere. Those stones then grow as liquid water drops collide with their surfaces and freeze. Once the hail grows large enough that the updraft can no longer support their weight, they drop to the ground.
Hail ranges in size, from small, ¼ inch balls to massive, grapefruit sizes at 4 ½ inches. The largest hailstone recovered in the U.S. had a diameter of 8 inches, a circumference of 18.62 inches, and weighed 1 lb 15 oz.. The larger balls can easily cars, aircrafts, and homes, and can be deadly to people and animals.
Despite the amount of damage it can do, hail is extremely hard to study. With all observations being post-impact, understanding a hailstone in free fall is near impossible. The new Hail Camera, developed by researchers with the National Severe Storms Laboratory, aims to change that by filming the stones in 4k at 330 frames per second using a lighting array that’s 30% brighter than the sun.
