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FARGO — Thunderstorms often develop updrafts strong enough to overcome the force of gravity long enough to send raindrops up into the colder tops of the clouds where they freeze. Eventually, the hailstones become heavy enough that gravity overcomes the force of the updraft, and they fall to the ground. Small hail is a relatively common occurrence during summer.
Very large hail is very rare, but almost every summer we get a report or two of hailstones the size of baseballs or even softballs falling somewhere in the Dakotas or Minnesota. Hail this big requires an updraft of around 100 mph or higher. Such an updraft is difficult to maintain, so these super large hailstones are rare in any one location. Fortunately, only a few of us will see one in our lifetimes. The largest hailstone on record (measured) fell on Vivian, South Dakota, on July 23, 2010.
