Video Shows Texas Town Getting Slammed by Hail Storm
A video has surfaced that captures the sheer power and destruction of a hail storm that recently pummeled a quiet Texan community.
The weather here in Texas continually leaves me in awe.
While tornadoes understandably dominate our concerns in the Lone Star State due to their devastating potential, hail is a force to be reckoned with in its own right. The video at the bottom of this article shows off a powerful hail storm in Qunah, Texas, a city in what I like to call the "shoulder" of Texas.
Hail, No!
As the hailstones rain down, you can hear the loud and terrifying sound they make as they pelt everything in their path. It's like a symphony of destruction, and there's no escaping it. The video captures the hailstones bouncing off the roof of the building and even the ground, leaving behind a trail of devastation.
10 Facts About Hail
- Formation Process: Hail is formed when updrafts in a thunderstorm carry raindrops upward into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere, where they freeze into ice pellets.
- Size Variability: Hailstones come in various sizes, ranging from small pellets less than a centimeter in diameter to massive stones that can exceed 15 centimeters (6 inches) in diameter.
- Layers of Ice: Hailstones often have concentric layers, much like tree rings, which form as the hailstone is carried up and down through different regions of the storm cloud, accumulating more layers of ice.
- Speed of Descent: Large hailstones can fall from the sky at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h), which can cause significant damage to property and vehicles.
- Damage Potential: Hailstorms can cause substantial damage to crops, buildings, and vehicles. The severity of the damage depends on the size and density of the hailstones.
- Hail Alley: The central United States, particularly states like Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, is known as "Hail Alley" due to its high frequency of severe hailstorms.
- Hailstorm Seasons: Hailstorms are most common in the spring and summer when there is an abundance of moisture and atmospheric instability.
- Destructive Power: In 2018, a hailstorm in Colorado set a record for the most expensive hailstorm in U.S. history, causing over $2 billion in damages.
- Hailstone Composition: Hailstones are composed of layers of ice, and the number of layers often corresponds to the number of times the hailstone was carried up and down within the storm cloud.
- Hail Detection: Weather radar systems use algorithms to detect hail in thunderstorms by measuring the reflectivity and the Doppler shift of the radar signals, helping meteorologists issue warnings to protect people and property.
Remember that hail can be dangerous, and it's important to take precautions during hailstorms to stay safe and protect your property.
Check out the video for yourself below:
