© James St. John

Limon, Colorado, United States of America

Latitude: 39° 16' 11'' N

Longitude: 103° 42' 34'' W

04 July 2010 2237 (Local Time)

Image P/S code: P.11.2.9

Image I.D.: 3871

• Images & related info Other Images Images of 1987 edition
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  Hail

  These hailstones fell from a relatively small but intense convective storm cell which moved over the small town of Limon, Colorado, USA. During the event, the size of the hailstones changed over time, resulting in the size distribution shown in this photograph. The smaller hailstones in the picture are over 5 mm in diameter, while the largest are around 15 mm to 25 mm across. 

  Hailstones are particles of ice which can be either transparent, or partly or completely opaque. They are usually spheroidal, conical or irregular in form. In this photograph, most of the hailstones are spherical.

  Falls of hail occur as showers from Cumulonimbus clouds, usually during thunderstorms. Hailstones usually form around a nucleus which may be anywhere from a few millimetres to one centimetre in diameter. The nucleus, composed of ice that is usually opaque, may be surrounded by alternating layers of transparent and opaque ice. In this picture the larger hailstones clearly show opaque ice at their centres, surrounded by a layer of transparent ice.  

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  © James St. John
  Limon, Colorado, United States of America
  Latitude: 39° 16' 11'' N
  Longitude: 103° 42' 34'' W
  04 July 2010 2237 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: P.11.2.9
  Image I.D.: 3871
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  Hail

  These large hailstones fell near Butte, Montana, USA during a late afternoon summer thunderstorm. Hailstones can be either transparent, or partly or completely opaque. They are usually spheroidal, conical or irregular in form and generally between 5 mm and 50 mm in diameter. For size comparison, the coin in this picture is 21 mm in diameter. These large hailstones are roughly spheroidal in shape, but hailstones can occur in a great variety of forms and dimensions, even within a single fall. They typically form around a nucleus of usually opaque ice, and can consist of several alternating layers of opaque and transparent ice. Others consist of transparent or opaque ice only and some may stick together to form irregular lumps. The internal structure of these particular hailstones cannot be seen in this picture, but it is clear that the outermost layer consists of opaque ice.

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  © James St. John
  Butte, Montana, United States of America
  Latitude: 46° 2' 28'' N
  Longitude: 112° 27' 15'' W
  11 August 2010 1813 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: S.11.2.9 1
  Image I.D.: 3872
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  Hail

  These hailstones collected on the ground during a thunderstorm near Cripple Creek, Colorado, USA.

  Hailstones are particles of ice that can be either transparent, or partly or completely opaque, and that fall only from a Cumulonimbus cloud. They may be spherical, conical or irregular in shape and are generally between 5 and 50 mm in diameter.

  Most of the hailstones in this picture are spherical, opaque and between 5 and 10 mm in diameter. Some are partly clear and partly opaque. 

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  © James St. John
  Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States of America
  Latitude: 38° 50' 11'' N
  Longitude: 105° 16' 8'' W
  28 July 2009 1800 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: S.11.2.9 2
  Image I.D.: 4635
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  Large hailstones

  Hailstones can occur in a variety of sizes and forms, even within a single fall. These large hailstones fell from a thunderstorm over Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, USA. Their size can be compared against an American quarter, which has a diameter of 24.3 mm. The largest hailstones in this group (seen at 2, 3 and 4) are around 40 to 50 mm across.

  These hailstones are somewhat irregular in shape, probably as a result of the agglomeration of smaller hailstones within the cloud. Note the knobbly or lumpy appearance on some of the stones, seen at 5 and 6.

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  © William Kraemer
  Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, United States of America
  Latitude: 37° 58' 43'' N
  Longitude: 90° 2' 51'' W
  08 May 2009 1040 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: S.11.2.9.1 1
  Image I.D.: 5430
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  Large hailstones

  Hail is a precipitation of particles of ice. Hailstones can be either transparent, or partly or completely opaque. They are generally between 5 and 50 mm in diameter, and although usually spheroidal in shape, they can be somewhat irregular in form. Such irregular lumps are formed by the sticking together of smaller hailstones while still in the cloud, which is clearly indicated here by the knobbly or lumpy appearance. The internal structure of the stones clearly suggest that these large hailstones have formed as a result of the agglomeration of smaller stones.

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  © Stijn van Puijvelde
  Terneuzen, Netherlands
  Latitude: 51° 19' 15'' N
  Longitude: 3° 50' 29'' E
  10 September 2011 2050 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: S.11.2.9.1 2
  Image I.D.: 5465
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  Large hail

  This picture shows a tennis ball-sized hailstone that fell from a tornadic supercell in south-eastern Wyoming, USA. The diameter of the stone is over 6 cm. Its size can be compared against an American quarter, which has a diameter of 2.43 cm.

  Hailstones can occur in a variety of sizes, even within a single fall. This was one of the larger stones in this fall; the median diameter of all of the hailstones was closer to golf ball-size.

  The internal structure of this hailstone suggests that it formed as a result of smaller stones sticking together within the cloud before falling to the ground.

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  © Eric Van Lochem
  Burns, Wyoming, United States of America
  Latitude: 41° 11' 34'' N
  Longitude: 104° 21' 33'' W
  07 June 2012 2030 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: P.11.2.9.1
  Image I.D.: 5553
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  Hail

  These hailstones collected on a lawn during a thunderstorm. A few are composed of transparent ice (1, 2) but most are opaque (3,4). Some are partly clear and partly opaque (5, 6). Most of these hailstones are spherical although a few are conical (7, 8). Their diameters can be judged from the metric rule in the foreground of the picture. Hail falls only from Cumulonimbus. Thunderstorms over northern France, the English Channel and the Isle of Wight occurred in an unstable south-easterly airflow. Pressure was low to the south-west of Ireland.

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  © R.K. Pilsbury
  Totland, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  Latitude: 50° 40' 18'' N
  Longitude: 1° 32' 51'' W
  03 May 1973 1440 (Local Time)
  
  
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