CoCoRaHS Hail Week 2023


 

"CoCoRaHS Hail Week" -- April 9-16, 2023

Join us in creating 'Hail Awareness' during our annual "CoCoRaHS Hail Week". Most of us see hail in our backyards from time to time and many of us will even experience a hailstorm this month. Learn more about hail, including how to observe and report it, as we explore this icy phenomena all week long.

  • Monday: "Watch the CoCoRaHS animation on How to Measure Hail" This YouTube animation will help you prepare to measure hail in your yard. Hail Video
  • Tuesday: "Five things you always wanted to know about hail, but were afraid to ask" We will feature some interesting facts about those falling balls of ice.
  • Wednesday: "CoCoRaHS Hail Reports . . . What are they, how can I access them?" How you can help report hail.
  • Thursday: "CoCoRaHS Hail Pads" How to make a hail pad . . . it's fun and easy to do.
  • Friday: "CoCoRaHS Hail Photo Day" Have a great/unique photo of hail? E-mail it to us today!
  • Saturday/Sunday: "CoCoRaHS National ‘Put out your Hail Pad’ Weekend" Have a hail pad? . . . join thousands around the country who will put out their hail pads this weekend. It’s that time of year!

To find out more about hail, visit our CoCoRaHS Hail Page by clicking here: Hail Information



 


MONDAY: CoCoRaHS Animation on “How to Measure Hail”

 

Many folks have asked how do I record and measure hail, even if I don't have a hail pad? Our hail animation short will help you to be ready and know what to do when hail makes its occasional visit to your location.

To view our four-minute animation on YouTube, click on the image below:


 



TUESDAY: "Five Interesting Facts About Those Frozen Balls of Ice"

Over the years CoCoRaHS has become one of few repositories of hail information in the nation. Thanks to your observations, we are able to catalogue hail reports from all fifty states. As we strive to become more 'hail aware' here are five things you may or may not know about hail.

1) Hail comes in many shapes and sizes, ranging from rice sized pellets (1/8") to giant softballs (4 1/2"). Hail can be clear or white or a combination of the two. Hail can be hard or soft. Wind patterns usually form hailstones into balls, but they can also appear in other shapes, such as cones, discs, stars, pyramids, or just strange looking pointy blobs. We've even had reports of donut shaped stones!

2) On July 23, 2010, the largest hailstone ever recorded in the United States in terms of diameter and weight fell in Vivian, South Dakota. The stone had a diameter of 8.0 inches with a circumference of 18.625 inches and weighed 1.9 pounds. No one was injured. This hailstone broke the previous United States hail size record for diameter (7.0 inches - 22 June 2003 in Aurora, NE) and weight (1.67 pounds - 3 September 1970 in Coffeyville, KS). The Aurora, Nebraska hailstone will retain the record for circumference (18.75 inches). Hailstone

3) In North America, hail is most common on the High Plains just east of the Rocky Mountains. For example where Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming's borders meet just east of Cheyenne, WY there are an average of 9 to 10 hailstorms each year. Hail in this region occurs between the months of March and October mostly during the afternoon and evening hours, with the bulk of the occurrences from May through September. 

4) Hail suppression has been tried by many over the years including silver iodide cloud seeding and types of rockets. "Hail cannons" whose "LOUD" acoustic burst is believed to break-up hail while it is just forming, are still being used in some areas where fruit and vegetables are grown extensively. 

5) Hail is found in many countries around the world, such as China. In June 1932 a hailstorm killed an estimated 200 people, and injured thousands more there. Other countries with frequent hailstorms include southern and western Germany, northern Italy, northern India and Croatia.

 


 



WEDNESDAY: New Announcement! CoCoRaHS now accepts photos for all Hail Reports! (AND Hail Pads are NOT REQUIRED)

You can now submit photos for your past hail reports, and there is now an option to submit a photo for any new hail report that you submit.  This is ONLY available on the website and NOT available on our App at this time.

We are looking for photos that not only show the sizes of the hailstones (or hail pads if you have one), but also for photos of hail depth, damages and storm impacts.  Here is a document with some tips on how to take photos of hail and hail pads.

You may not realize it, but there are very few sources for accurate data about hail. Most weather stations don't even measure or report hail and scientists often have difficulty finding good data to help analyze storm patterns. Therefore, our CoCoRaHS hail reports are especially important. Check out this example of a damaging hailstorm that struck the Norman, Oklahoma area in April 2021, and the accompanying photo.

Entering hail data: If you experience hail at your location (even the small stuff) please use the CoCoRaHS hail report form found in the left-hand menu of your data entry page. Even if you don't have much information about the hail or weren't home to know exactly when it happened, still send in a report and fill in what you know and skip the parts that you don't.

You may choose to have a printed version of the hail report form where you can use a pen or pencil to mark things down as the storm is happening, and then enter the data afterwards.

Upload a hail photo tied to your new or previous report: Once you submit a report you will see a link on the confirmation page for an option to submit up to four photos.  CoCoRaHS HQ will only select one per report but will keep the others for research purposes.  Photos will typically be available within 48-72 hours and will be available to the public.

If you have an old photo for a previously submitted hail report, you can view your past hail reports (links found in the left-hand menu of your data entry page) where you will see an option to "Upload Image". *Note: There is no need to edit the previous report - simply click the icon to view it and the option to upload your image will appear.

Viewing hail data can be done in three ways through the "View Data" page:

  • "Days with Hail" reports include a list of all days during a calendar year with one or more hail reports entered into the CoCoRaHS database and the number of photos. Reports with a camera icon next to them indicate that at least one report for that day has a photo available for viewing on-line.
  • "Search Hail Reports" allows you to filter to a date range or location, and will also indicate if a photo is available for viewing.
  • "Station Hail Reports" allows you to find all hail reports for any station ID entered into the form.

You can also see a map of hail reports for any given day (or span of days) on our interactive map here: Hail reports on the CoCoRaHS Interactive Map.


 



THURSDAY:"CoCoRaHS Hail Pads" -- How to make a hail pad . . . make your own at home!

Hail pads are one way for to CoCoRaHS's mission to measure, map and study hail. They are fairly easy to construct with the right materials. If you can wrap a present, you can most likely make a hail pad.

A hail pad consists of a 12" by 12" square of Styrofoam covered in heavy duty aluminum foil. A little tape and you're set to go. To learn more on how to construct one visit: Making Hail Pads.

For those of you who would like to order hail pads without going through the process of making your own, they are available for sale through www.WeatherYourWay.com. Now that photos can be uploaded after submitting a hail report, be sure to read our tips for photographing hail and hail pads.


 



FRIDAY:"CoCoRaHS Hail Photo Day"

Submit your hail photos! There is now a place on the confirmation page to submit a photo associated with your hail report.  You can also submit a photo for any existing hail report you've submitted in the past.

The categories of photos we are looking for are: 1) close-up photos of hail stones -- unique shapes, size, colors, etc.; 2) hail damage (vegetation, dented cars, etc.) showing the power of this force of nature; and 3) interesting shots of ground covered by hail.  View our tips for photographing hail and hail pads.  For your safety, please wait until the storm is over to take your photos.


 



SATURDAY/SUNDAY: CoCoRaHS National "Put out your Hail Pad Weekend"

Have a hail pad? . . . join hundreds around the country who will put out their hail pads this weekend. It's that time of year!

We have a saying in CoCoRaHS and that is "A hail pad does no good unless it's outside to capture the footprint of a hail storm as it passes overhead". This is so true! Many of us from time to time will learn of a hail event hitting our neighborhood while we are at work, out shopping, etc. and say to ourselves, "Great! Guess where my hail pad is . . . it's in the garage!" When our pads are out and deployed it is really fun to see the actual craters hail has left on the pad after the storm. Many pads often look like the surface of the moon. So don't miss out, put your hail pad out on this special "Put out your Hail Pad Weekend".

Some have asked, "Gee, these pads are light, how do we keep them from blowing away?" Great question! A simple way would be to cut two "L" shaped wires from a metal coat hanger and secure the pad to the ground in that fashion. Others have attached them to their snow measuring boards or made a special 18" x 18" plywood board to attach them to. Still others have mounted them to old tree stumps. As long as you have an open area with an exposure to the sky and not too close to a building you will be fine. Some have chosen to elevate their pads to prevent their pets from stepping on them. Many have sprayed a dull coat of spray paint on the pad to keep birds from peeling them and using the foil for nest material (somehow many birds are attracted to the shine of the metal). It is also important to mark an "N" on the back of your pad to tell which direction is north. Finally, make sure to include your station ID number on the back of the pad and the date the hail event occurred. We get many amazing looking pads dented with craters, but unfortunately with no information on them.

We often are asked the question, "Can the foam be reused or recycled?" The answer is yes . . . when we make hail pads here in Colorado, we are careful to reuse the foam (after the pad is photographed and analyzed) if it is still intact by turning it over to make a new pad. You can do this too if you decide to photograph and not send the pad in to us. If the pad is too far gone, please check locally to see if you can recycle the foam.

Also, please remember that you do not need to have a hail pad to report hail that falls in your yard. You can report it by clicking here: Hail Report.

Thanks again for joining us for "CoCoRaHS Hail Week". We will rerun some of this week's messages from time to time. We'd love to have your feedback as to whether this series was helpful in making you more "hail aware". Send your thoughts to: henry.reges@colostate.edu .

Have a great weekend and thanks for putting out your pad!