Large hailstones kill at least one person and injure dozens in Spain

Musician Sikus Carbonell told Reuters that hailstones began falling as a band was playing on a cloth-covered balcony at a local hotel, causing chaos in the venue.

“There was a mess, with little boys and girls running by themselves, some parents were able to grab their kids,” Carbonell said. Reuters. “Then a hailstone penetrated the fabric…and I told my group we were either going into the restaurant or one of the tennis balls would land on us and we wouldn’t make it.”

Broken bones and bruises were the most common injuries caused by the sudden barrage. A 20-month-old girl was killed when a hailstone hit her in the head.

“We have experienced the appalling condition of the little girl who was hit by a stone,” La Bisbal Demporda Mayor Carme Vall told Spanish national radio, RTVE, on Wednesday morning. Watchman. “There was not much that could be done for her and she died today. It was a terrible accident.”

Five things you should know about hail, like “Yeah – it happens during the summer”

Hail stones rarely kill or injure people, which makes a hailstorm in Spain on Tuesday very unusual. Forecasts and warning systems usually allow people to take cover, which means most hail damage to cars and homes — and it can be significant.

The hail that swept across Catalonia on Tuesday was the largest ever measured in Spain since at least 2002, Catalan weather agency Meteocat says. chirp. The hailstorms were caused by a cold front approaching Western Europe from the Atlantic Ocean.

Hail storms can be multi-billion dollar disasters, destroying roofs and shattering glass in a widespread area. In 2022, at least two hailstorms caused more than $1 billion in damages, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Remarkably, hailstorms hit roughly the same area — parts of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin — just 10 days apart.

In the country’s ‘Cold Alley’, violent storms and burgeoning growth are down a costly collision course.

But dangerous hailstorms have caused deaths and injuries in the United States before. In 2018, a hailstorm It hit parts of Colorado, killing several animals at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and injuring at least 14 people.

“One person’s watch exploded when it got hailstones, and another person got a severe blow to the head, eroding his hard hat,” said the park’s chief executive, Bob Chastain.

Only three people are known to have been killed by hailstones in the United States, according to a report by the weather blog Class 6 in the year 2020.

The deadliest hailstorm ever occurred in India’s Uttar Pradesh state in 1888. A hail the size of an orange fell, killing 246 people and hundreds of livestock, according to the Report In the journal Weather, Climate and Society.

Argentine hailstone ‘Gargantuan’ may have surpassed the world record in 2018

The The biggest hailstones Recorded in the United States in Vivian, SD, in 2010. The Hailston is eight inches in diameter and was a record 1.9375 pounds, breaking records set in 2003 and 1970, respectively. The hailstone was probably larger when it fell, as melting and sublimation caused the stone to shrink before it could be verified by the National Weather Service.

Some believe that larger hailstones have fallen to the ground. The hailstone that fell in Argentina may have been as much as 9.3 inches in diameter, which means it would have broken the record, had it been verified. Storm produced at least One giant, 7.1 inch stonewhich has been safely stored in the refrigerator for official measurements.

“The cold lasted 20 minutes. It was kinda scary,” said Victoria Droita, who picked up the stone. It fell and then exploded and then some melted. Maybe it was bigger.”

Costly hailstorms are growing rapidly. Here’s what the weather community does about it.