A hailstone of at least 19 cm fell in the Italian town of Azzano Decimo (northeast), on the night of Monday to Tuesday, setting a new European record, according to the ESSL (European Laboratory for the Observation of Severe Thunderstorms). "After a thorough review of the reports and photos, specialists from the European Severe Weather Database have come to the conclusion that the diameter of this hail can be confirmed at 19 cm," the organization wrote.
The last record in this area was not old, it dated from last week: a hailstone of 16 cm had been found, still in Italy, in Carmignano di Brenta (northeast). On the other hand, Azzano Decimo's hailstone is very close to the world record, set in Vivian, South Dakota (USA), on July 23, 2010. The ice pebble was 20.3 cm.
European hail record broken again in mere 5 days: 19cm hailstone confirmed in Italy! Less than a week after setting a...
Posted by European Severe Storms Laboratory on Tuesday, July 25, 2023
In February 2018 another large hailstone, described as "gargantuan", was photographed in Argentina after a hailstorm, but it is not certain that it broke the world record. According to the study, dedicated to this storm, it measured "between 18.8 cm and 23.7 cm".
The Guinness World Records recorded the record for the longest piece of ice to fall from the sky. In 1849, a 6 m piece of ice fell in Scotland, it "seemed to be composed of smaller pieces, perhaps hailstones. One possible explanation is that the hailstones were fused by lightning."
Severe weather in Italy
If these records could be broken, it is because several Italian regions have faced particularly violent hailstorms in recent days, several sites have shared photos of facades of houses heavily damaged by hailstones. Tornado in Italia published many pictures of fairly large hailstones that had been found, measuring more than ten centimeters and for some nearly half a kilo.
⚠️⚠️Disastro totale ad Azzano Decimo (Pordenone) in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Terribile.Chicchi 😨😨enormi dal peso di mezzo...
Posted by Tornado in Italia on Monday, July 24, 2023
As a reminder, hailstones are "ice particles with a diameter greater than 5 mm," explains Météo France. Hail episodes usually occur during severe thunderstorms, they "develop inside the cloud by successive deposits of ice on these ice cores, before falling to the ground," and it is "the most violent thunderstorms that generate the largest hailstones."
The ESSL notes on its website that 2022 was "a record year for hailstorms in Europe". "Very large hailstones (diameter more than 5 cm) were reported 1,334 times and 18 reports involved giant hail with a diameter of more than 10 cm," says the organization.