Pineapple-sized hail stone could set new Texas record after being discovered by storm chasers

Sky News
Updated ·1-min read

Storm trackers in Texas have recovered a massive pineapple-sized hail stone that could be a new state record.

Val and Amy Castor, veteran storm chasers with Oklahoma City television station KWTV, discovered a piece of hail nearly 18cm long at the weekend.

They made the discovery near Vigo Park while they were chasing a major thunderstorm system.

Val Castor said the stone was about the size of a pineapple.

"That's the biggest hail I've ever seen, and I've been chasing storms for more than 30 years," he said.

He said several baseball-sized hail stones fell while he was driving, including one that cracked his windscreen, before he spotted the big piece in a ditch on the side of the road.

"I could see it from probably 100 yards away," he added.

The massive hail stone is believed to be a new state record, topping a 16.25cm specimen found in Hondo in 2021.

It still must be confirmed by a group of researchers that includes the Texas state climatologist.

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