Veteran storm trackers Val and Amy Castor made a jaw-dropping discovery while pursuing a severe thunderstorm system across the Texas Panhandle on Sunday – a massive hunk of hail larger than any recorded in the state before.
The husband-and-wife team of meteorologists from Oklahoma City television station KWTV spotted the colossal 7-inch hailstone lying in a ditch while storm chasing near Vigo Park. For perspective, that’s roughly 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,” said Val Castor, who has encountered his fair share of extreme weather events over decades of field work.
The couple had already endured baseball-sized hailstones pelting their vehicle hard enough to crack the windshield as the intense storm system unleashed its fury. But the absolutely huge piece they recovered from the side of the road still came as a shocking sight.
“I could see it from probably 100 yards away,” Castor recalled of first spotting the potential record-breaker.
Indeed, preliminary measurements indicate the Panhandle hailstone exceeds the previous Texas record of 6.4 inches set two years ago by a specimen found in Hondo. However, conclusive verification is still pending from a research team including the state climatologist.
While the Castors’ find is undoubtedly an extreme case, the Panhandle region is no stranger to severe hailstorms capable of inflicting tremendous damage with prolific hail production.
The largest hailstone on record in the United States fell in South Dakota in 2010 and measured nearly 11 inches in diameter while weighing close to 2 pounds.
If officially confirmed as a new state record, the Vigo Park hailstone would rank among the biggest ever witnessed – an incredible trophy from one of the most fearsome thunderstorms many seasoned chasers have ever encountered in Texas.
