Unusually Large Hail Falls in Montana

Eric Chaney
Published: August 10,2016
Residents of Montana saw unusually large hail in at least one area of the state Tuesday evening as severe thunderstorms rolled through the area.
Brandon Copic posted tweeted a photo of a 4-inch diameter hailstone picked up about five miles northeast of Ridgeway, in the southeast corner of the state.

A hailstone measuring 4-inches along its major axis was recovered near Ridgeway, Montana, on August 9, 2016.
(Brandon Copic)

"One High Plains supercell thunderstorm took advantage of the instability and wind shear in place to produce the giant hailstones such as Mr. Copic documented," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "Hail that size - 4 inches or more in diameter - is rather typical in the Plains, but a bit less so in Montana," Erdman said.
No damage or injuries were been reported due to the hail, the NWS says, but high winds flipped several campers near Herreid, South Dakota, and at least one person was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Winds near McIntosh, South Dakota were strong enough to blow a Quonset hut across Highway 65.

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NWS Aberdeen ✔ @NWSAberdeen

Impressive storm with overshooting top in Carter county, MT! 1-min SSEC SRSOR Vis Sat: http://goo.gl/1CCDKt  #sdwx

8:44 PM - 9 Aug 2016

• 31 31 Retweets
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According to NOAA's Storm Event Database, only 27 other days from 1958 through April 2016 featured 4-inch hail in the Big Sky State.
The hail extended into South Dakota as well. One Twitter user posted several photos of a hailstone that fell near Herreid.
"Big hail, heavy rain, stong winds," the tweet reads. "Very ugly."
MORE: Big, Funky Hailstones