It weighed almost 1kg and was as big as a football – this is the heaviest hailstone ever recorded… 

It weighed almost 1kg and was as big as a football – this is the heaviest hailstone ever recorded… 

Think hailstones are tiny? Think again...


In 2010, a storm hit Vivian in South Dakota, USA, and the skies above became filled with hailstones – but this was no ordinary storm, and these weren't your ordinary hailstones...

What was the biggest hailstone ever?

The hailstones that fell that day included one that was the size of a football. It measured 20cm in diameter, had a circumference of 18.625 inches (47.3cm), and weighed 880g.

This record-breaking hailstone was discovered after a severe thunderstorm struck the area.

NWS Aberdeen, SD, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What was the largest hailstone to fall in the UK?

Fortunately the UK doesn't have this size of hailstone falling, but that doesn't mean they can't be impressive. The largest hailstone ever recorded in the UK was larger and heavier than a cricket ball and fell in Horsham, West Sussex, on 5 September 1958.

This monster weighed 142g (5 oz) and measured about 6.35cm (2.5 inches) in diameter.

Has anyone ever died from being hit by a hailstone?

Believe it or not people can die from being hit by hailstones, although it’s extremely rare and hasn't occurred in the UK. In 1888 in northern India, a hailstorm reportedly killed over 200 people.

Top image: aggregate hailstone. Credit: Getty

This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
© Our Media 2025