Extreme Tornado-Producing Storm Pelts Dallas With Giant, Palm-Size Hail
- Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:20pm by
Liz Klimas
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As if an extreme tornado that flies tractor-trailers through the air wasn’t enough, check out the hail that came along with the at least two “large and extremely dangerous” twisters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday.
(Related: Wild video: Tornadoes in Dallas send semis flying through the air)
The hail size ranged from dime to golfball to baseball. Here are some photos collected by Gizmodo:
(Photo: Gizmodo/Taikratoke)
(Photo: Gizmodo/Adam Sheehy)
(Photo: Gizmodo/Adam Sheehy)
This video shows the pelting of golf ball-sized:
A local newscaster describes the hail from a gas station where residents are pulling up to seek coverage under the awning:
Hail is often associated with severe storms in conditions known to produce tornadoes. NOAA explains how the hail forms:
- Inside of a thunderstorm are strong updrafts of warm air and downdrafts of cold air.
- If a water droplet is picked up by the updrafts…it can be carried well above the freezing level. With temperatures below 32F…our water droplet freezes.
- As the frozen droplet begins to fall…carried by cold downdrafts…it may thaw as it moves into warmer air toward the bottom of the thunderstorm
- But…our little half-frozen droplet may also get picked up again by another updraft…carrying it back into very cold air and re-freezing it. With each trip above and below the freezing level our frozen droplet adds another layer of ice.
- Finally…our frozen water droplet…with many layers of ice – much like the rings in a tree…falls to the ground – as hail!
In terms of hail damage, it is assumed (based on the picture above) that many vehicles will have smashed windows and dented hoods after the storm. The Associated Press also reported American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely as saying the airline was pulling dozens of planes out of service to inspect them for hail damage. Evening flights at DFW were canceled.
Even though the hail seen in Dallas can be considered Texas-sized, it isn’t quite the largest ever reported. According to NOAA, the largest hail stone measured 7 inches in diameter and weighed a little less than a pound. It was dropped in Aurora, Neb., in 2003.
Gizmodo has more videos of the hail portion of the storm from its readers. Watch them here.
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RamonPreston
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 11:52amWait until you get hail weighing 100 lbs. (prophesized in the Bible)
Report Post »texasbeta
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 12:40pmIt amazes me how it is legal for you to breed.
Report Post »Dr. Joel Fleischman
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 7:39pmTEXASBETA
Your point, assclown?
Report Post »perry1980
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 10:34amIt was one Hail of a day here in Dallas yesterday. 12 -15 tornados and Hail larger than Eggs!
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 2:29pmHow did the solar panels stand up to the hail storms?
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 2:15amThis is bull. I was in Plano in 1985-86 and we had a hail storm with egg to baseball-sized hail that ripped cars and their windows apart. Histrionics at work here…where is Chicken Little?
NoBama 2012
Report Post »woodyb
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:31pmWhy are there no visible ‘palm-sized’ hailstones on the grass in the two photos?
Somebody made a ‘hailball’ (ala snowball) out of a fistful of regular hail!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »RockyMountainPATRIOT
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 8:15pmI grew up here, between Ft Worth & Dallas, living in fear of what happened yesterday. A tornado hit our house in the early 70′s…and it’s had lots of holes in the roof from large hail over the years. Luckily, this round narrowly missed us and this old house still stands.
Live here long enough, you’ll get hit by a tornado. Just a fact of life in Texas. Always has been…always will be.
And NOTE TO THE BLAZE: DALLAS is NOT the ONLY PLACE HERE!!! There are myriad of other cities & towns in this area with their own names & their own identities…only ONE of those is named “Dallas”. The REST of us do not call where live, “DALLAS”–because that’s NOT where we live!! (Plus, most of us do not wish to be identified with their politics!)
Report Post »momof5children
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 12:21amwelcome to texas glenn beck :)
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 11:03pmWow!
Report Post »perry1980
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 10:46pmclose to my house.ouch
Report Post »thegodfather
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 10:32pmI’m guessing by the end of the week, Obama will blame the size of the hail, on Republicans for not embracing solar power.
Report Post »KangarooJack
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 8:25pmVery thankful that, so far, no major injuries reported from all these tornadoes. Sounds like the local weather crews did a fine job alerting people.
Helpful hint, a large tarp to cover your car can help. Baseball size hail?….other than a garage, nothing will help.
Report Post »Sicboy
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 8:50pmNothing but a garage could have saved my wife’s car from the 50 or so hail balls that hit her car. Oh well, houses are cheaper here.
Report Post »Deftone
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 10:04pmGetting some well needed rain here in Okla. For some reason I felt weird flopping up my hoodie. :/ But, best wishes for all involved. This is where you will see a community shine. Noone to blame. Just move foward and get through it. My thx to all involved in the helping of aid. Donating or foot work. God Bless!
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:37pmHd them bigger here in NC.Did not make the news and did $4000 damage to my car.Texas does nothing Half Assed.Everything is Bigger in Texas hahah.
Report Post »MarcusFL
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:33pmWhere is George? He will at least make mention of this.
Report Post »Joyzee
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:31pmWasn‘t Solyndra Working on green Tornado Windmill’s…swat i heard..yep think so!..
Report Post »TexasArmadillo
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:29pmBy far one of the worst sounds you will hear is an ice baseball hit you truck. I had to deal with that last year. Gotta love tornado alley.
Report Post »wakeus_com
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:26pmI live on the Arlington/Fort Worth border … and am pretty used to Texas storms, especially in the spring … but this one was pretty nuts. Close call twice today …
Report Post »AllAmericanGirl22
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:14pmYikes! I didn’t realize TX weather was so extreme. Praying for everyone @ Mercury TX!
Report Post »countrygirl56
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:59pmPraying for the safety of Glenn, Stu, Pat, and all members of the Beck Team! Stay safe guys…
Report Post »We NEED you!!!
mikenleeds
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:43pmi live in Birmingham,Alabama and we see this stuff on a regular basics
Report Post »BobtheMoron
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:57pmYou don‘t live in B’ham you live in Leeds.
Report Post »Oh, God!
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:36pmWe were spared this time in Farmers Branch, at least from this storm. We’ve had softball size hail bust through all six of our skylights, which have a double layer of plexiglass. That was scary. Prayers to everyone else.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:35pmYes .. hail can do a lot of damage .. a friends daughter’s brand new car got hit in Michigan last month. Imagine if you got hit in the head with one of those … prayers going out to all the people who’s lives have been ripped apart today … and those still in danger.
Report Post »lisa2994
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:33pmHappy to see that no one as far as we have heard was killed in these storms! You can replace things not human life. Thank you GOD!
Report Post »ScienceIsNotEvil
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 10:49pmlisa2994,
No thank the weather people, the scientists, the engineers, and all the rest who have done the research, build the systems, and who run our advanced weather control networks.
You can also thank the government for funding most of the research and data collection which is used to warn people when such storms are coming. It‘s a good think that Rick’s plan to stop NOAA from giving out weather data to anyone other than private companies was stopped.
Report Post »sawbuck
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:32pmWelcome to “springtime” in Texas Mr. Glenn Beck.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:31pmFore!
Just the angels spending some time on the practice range…Just hope they don’t go bowling.
Report Post »KangarooJack
Posted on April 3, 2012 at 8:27pmlol. When I was a little girl, my Dad told me that thunder was the Angels bowling and lightining was when they got a strike.
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