Definitions
Hail n. showery precipitation in the form of irregular pellets or balls of ice more than one-third inch in diameter, falling from a cumulonimbus cloud.
-Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 1994
Introduction
Hail, a frequent product of severe thunderstorms, causes nearly $1 billion in damage to property and crops each year nationwide. The costliest U. S. hailstorm ever was in Denver, Colorado on July 11, 1990. The total hail damage from this single storm was estimated at $625 million! Property damage estimates from hail in Colorado frequently top $50 million a year. Hail in Colorado is an unavoidable part of life. In fact, most years Colorado wears the title of hail capital of the United States.
Hail is certainly not new to the Eastern Plains of Colorado. Early native Americans made mention of the "ice balls" which fell from the sky in the summer. European settlers surely experienced hailstorms with some regularity, however the events were seldom recorded for the benefit of historians. The advent of interest in hail actually began after World War II when the Air Force and commercial airlines began to study it. The result has been a marked increase in the ability to forecast severe storms.
Definitions and Introduction | Facts About Hail | How Does Hail Develop?
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