The Largest Hailstone That Has Fallen In Texas Smashed Records

As we continue with severe weather season in Texas, it's important to remember that it isn't just tornadoes that can do real damage to life and property. Massive hailstorms each year cause a lot of damage and can even be deadly.

Each year we hear about large hail and that can range in size between baseball to softball size hail and sometimes even grapefruit size hail.

Grapefruit size hail pretty much means hailstones that are about 4.5 inches in diameter. These will beat up your car, your roof, and pretty much anything else left outside. But sometimes, hailstones can get even larger, and just 3 years ago, the largest hailstone to fall in Texas was recorded.

Back on April 28, 2021, supercell thunderstorms moved into Medina County in South Texas just after 7:30pm. Wind gusts were recorded at 110mph and there was even a tornado. But it wasn't the tornado that went down in the record books.

Hail measuring over 5 inches in diameter began falling with the storms and in Hondo, Texas, the National Weather Service confirmed a cantaloupe size hailstone. That stone measured 6.4 inches in diameter according to ExpressNews.com and weighed over 1.26 pounds. It was the largest hailstone ever recorded in Texas.

Another social media post of cantaloupe-size hail also appeared on social media. Using photogrammetry techniques, Dr. Matthew Kumjian of Penn State University estimated the hailstone to be between 6.27 and 6.57 inches in diameter. That stone may have been the new record holder, but it was never verified because it was ultimately used to make margaritas.

In 2023, hail that fell in North Texas was close to the record setter from 2021.

The size of these hailstones are obviously rare, but it shows that it could happen and it also shows just how dangerous hail storms can get.