Archives
Categories
WeatherGuys Links
Category Archives: Severe Weather
What is the largest hailstone on record?
A hailstone was found in Vigo Park, Texas, on June 2 that measured 7¼ inches in diameter.
However, that is not the record size hailstone for the U.S. That prize stone fell on July 23, 2010, near Vivian, South Dakota. It was 8 inches in diameter and weighed just over 1.9 pounds. The official record hailstone for Wisconsin fell in Wausau in 1921 and measured 5.7 inches. The world’s heaviest hailstone weighed 2.25 pounds and fell in Bangladesh in April 1986. Its diameter was not recorded. Continue reading
Why is NWS predicting an active hurricane season?
The National Weather Service is expecting the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season to be an extremely active one. The forecast predicts 17 to 25 total named storms. Such storms have sustained winds of 38 mph or higher. Additionally, four to seven of those storms may fall into the major hurricane category, with sustained winds of 111 mph or higher.
An average year sees 14 named storms during hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Continue reading
Category: Severe Weather, Tropical
Comments Off on Why is NWS predicting an active hurricane season?
Comments Off on Why is NWS predicting an active hurricane season?
Has this year’s tornado activity been abnormal?
Preliminary reports from the Storm Prediction Center tally higher than the historical averages though May 2024. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Meteorology, Severe Weather
Comments Off on Has this year’s tornado activity been abnormal?
Comments Off on Has this year’s tornado activity been abnormal?
Do tornadoes occur over all parts of Earth?
The only continent that has not recorded a tornado is Antarctica. Otherwise, tornadoes can happen in just about any location.
North America, and specifically the United States, accounts for more than 75% of the world’s reported tornadoes. Other tornado-prone areas around the globe include western Canada, Argentina, the western Mediterranean, Japan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Severe Weather
Comments Off on Do tornadoes occur over all parts of Earth?
Comments Off on Do tornadoes occur over all parts of Earth?
How does hail get its shape?
Hail is precipitation in the form of balls or chunks of ice.
Hailstones begin as small ice particles that grow primarily by accretion; to grow large, they require abundant water droplets. As the hailstone moves up and down through a storm, it collides with water droplets and ice crystals, growing larger with each collision. Hailstones can be smaller than peas or as large as oranges and grapefruits. The small hailstones are roughly spherical in shape, while large ones can take on jagged shapes. Continue reading
