Hailstorms are a fact of life in the Plains. But occasionally a severe thunderstorm manufactures a hailstone that sets a record. On May 23, 2011, 14 years ago today, a research group chasing asupercellthunderstorm in southwest Oklahoma recovered a 6-inch diameter hailstone in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, north of the town of Gotebo. Pictured below, that hail was larger than agrapefruit, even aDVD. Fortunately, the research team preserved the giant hailstone, though the roof of their chase vehicle wasdamaged in the hailstorm. While there had been previous larger hailstones reported in the Sooner State in April 1961 (7-inch diameter) and April 1971 (8-inch diameter), meteorologists investigating the historical data since 1950 could not find sufficient documented evidence for those larger stones. Thus, this became the official Oklahoma state record hailstone. America's official record largest hail was an8-inch diameter stone in Vivian, South Dakotaon July 23, 2010. This Oklahoma hailstorm happened the day after theJoplin EF5 tornadoand would be followed by anoutbreak of 186 tornadoes from May 24-26, including an EF5 tornado through El Reno, Piedmont and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.
