Experts confirm this hailstone broke the record as the biggest in Texas history

NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) confirmed a hailstone that fell successful the Texas panhandle during a June 2024 severe weather lawsuit was the largest successful the state’s history.

'MONSTER'-SIZED HAILSTONE COULD SHATTER TEXAS RECORD, NEAR WORLD RECORD

In a report, the committee determined that the hailstone, besides known arsenic the Virgo Park hailstone, measured 7.1 inches successful diameter, breaking the erstwhile Texas grounds of 6.5 inches.

The record-breaking hailstone came from a supercell thunderstorm that developed connected June 2, 2024, successful an situation conducive to producing ample hail.

A record-breaking hailstone was recovered successful Texas aft a terrible upwind lawsuit successful 2024.

(Val Castor / FOX Weather)

The chromatic was recovered lying successful a roadside ditch by tempest tracker Val Castor, who initially thought it was a discarded gallon of milk.

When Castor realized it was a hailstone, helium suspected it could beryllium record-breaking.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

"As I was chasing this tornadic supercell, I started to announcement ample hail connected the crushed the size of softballs, with immoderate inactive falling sporadically," Castor said. "As I drove past it, I thought determination was nary mode this was a hailstone, but I turned astir and went back. As I got closer, it became wide that it was so a precise ample hailstone."

The Vigo Park hailstone, held adjacent to a Monster Energy can. 

(Val Castor / FOX Weather)

Images helium shared with the National Weather Service and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) showed the hailstone was somewhat longer than a tin of Monster vigor drink.

Castor estimated that the hailstone astatine astir 7.25 inches successful diameter. However, IBHS aboriginal said the chromatic measured astir 7.06 inches utilizing an AI-based technique, oregon 7.16 inches done elaborate photogrammetric analysis.

The largest hailstone ever reported successful the state fell successful Vivian, South Dakota, connected July 23, 2010.

(NWS / FOX Weather)

Because determination was nary definitive measurement, the astir blimpish estimation of the hailstone’s diameter was determined to beryllium 7.10 inches.

Based connected photographic grounds comparing the hailstone next to objects for reference, on with reliable eyewitness accounts from the event, the SCEC voted unanimously to certify that the chromatic was 7.1 inches successful diameter.

ZOO ANIMAL KILLED AFTER DANGEROUS HAILSTORM BATTERS MISSOURI, CAUSING STATEWIDE DAMAGE

The largest hailstone ever recorded successful the U.S. measured 8 inches successful diameter and 18.62 inches successful circumference. It was recovered successful Vivian, South Dakota, successful 2010.