Having hail from spring time thunderstorms is not an exceptional event. Having hail while near surface air temperatures are near freezing is exceptional. The featured chart compares recently reported hail size and an approximate surface air temperature from a nearby reporting station. It is remarkable to see so many hail reports at temperatures even below freezing. The thunderstorms were feeding off of instability based well above the surface. Having a cold layer of air near the surface also helped hail stones to reach the ground without mostly melting on the way down.

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Tags:   hail   2013