Facts about hail, the icy precipitation often encountered in spring and summer

Severe storms tore through Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday, bringing high winds, possible tornadoes and what some described as “gorilla hail.”

In Kansas, hail nearly the size of a softball and measuring 4 inches (10 centimeters) was reported in the town of Wabaunsee and 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of hail in Geary County near Junction City and Fort Riley.

Here are some facts about hail according to the National Weather Service:

Hail is a type of frozen precipitation that forms during thunderstorms, usually in the spring and summer months in the U.S.

Strong updrafts, the updraft during a thunderstorm, carry very small particles called ice nuclei, on which water freezes as it passes the freezing point in the atmosphere.

Small ice balls begin to form and as they try to fall to the Earth’s surface, they can be flung back to the top of the storm by a new updraft. Each trip above and below freezing adds a new layer of ice until the hail becomes heavy enough to fall to earth.

The size of hail varies and can be as small as a penny or larger than apples due to varying lift, said Mark Fuchs, senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Missouri.

“The stronger the updraft, the bigger the hail can be…anything bigger than two inches is really big,” Fuchs said.

Pea: ¼ inch

Mothball: ½ inch

Penny: ¾ inch

Nickel: 7/8 inch

Quarter: 1 inch (hail of at least quarter size is considered severe)

Ping pong ball: 1½ inches

Golf ball: 1¾ inches

Tennis ball: 2½ inches

Baseball: 2¾ inches

Large apple: 7.5 cm

Softball: 4 inches

Grapefruit: 4½ inches

The largest recorded hailstone in the US was almost the size of a volleyball and fell on July 23, 2010 in Vivian, South Dakota. It was 8 inches in diameter and weighed almost 2 pounds.

Hail causes approximately $1 billion in damage to crops and property annually. A hailstorm that hit Kansas City on April 10, 2001 was the costliest ever in the US, causing approximately $2 billion in damage.

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