WSET.com - ABC13Record-Setting Hailstone by Lyndsay Tapases

While we have been busy breaking heat records around here (July 2010 ended up as the hottest ever on record in Bluefield, 5th in Blacksburg, 6th in Danville, and 7th in Roanoke) the town of Vivian, SD, has grabbed the attention of weather enthusiasts for breaking a much "cooler" record -- on Friday, July 23rd, a new record was set for the largest hailstone by diameter and weight.

A line of powerful thunderstorms ripped through Vivian and brought high winds, heavy rain, and massive hailstones. The stones punched holes in roofs of homes and car windshields. Leslie Scott, a Vivian-area ranch hand, spotted one hailstone he found particularly eye-catching, and decided to go grab it. Although his original plan was to make a daiquiri out of the massive ice ball, he decided to contact the National Weather Service instead.

Representatives from the NWS branch in Aberdeen, SD made a trip to Vivian to conduct official measurements. Prior to this hailstone, Aurora, NE was home to the largest hailstone on record, which was 7" in diameter and 18.75" in circumference. The standing record weight was a 1.67lb hailstone, found in Coffeyville, KS in 1970.

After measuring and weighing the new ball of ice, the weight came in at 1.94lbs, 8" in diameter and 18.5" in circumference. The stone was likely larger when it fell from the sky, and may have been over 2 lbs originally, as mass was lost due to melting since Scott was without power for several hours after the storm. NOAA says the updraft strength in the supercell that created the enormous stone was likely between 160-180mph!