Huge Hail
OK, the category only fits loosely here; but I had to put this shot somewhere. :-) This enormous hail, up to 4-1/2 inches in maximum diameter, is a reminder of what outflow to avoid: the hail core. A few minutes before, a 4-incher hit the metal frame strip above my vehicle's windshield, busting a hole in the adjoining section of windshield and sending glass shards down into my lap. Lesson learned! Hail up to 4.75 inches in diameter was reported elsewhere in town. Look closely to see the accretion rings in a few of the hailstones, where alternate layers of clear and opaque ice were gathered by the growing hailstones as they hit patches of supercooled drops high up in the thunderstorm. Only the most extremely intense thunderstorm updrafts can support hail this massive before it must fall. Hail this size is capable of killing people and livestock; though nobody was known to have been hurt in this event. The supercell responsible for this hail also produced 6 tornadoes (5 of which we videotaped).
El Dorado KS (16 May 91), looking S and down
(GPS)
