2012 Hawaii hailstorm

On the morning of March 9, 2012, a particularly devastating and long-lived hailstorm hit the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Lanai. The hailstorm was produced by a supercell thunderstorm. This event produced the largest hailstone ever recorded in Hawaii since records began in 1950. The hailstone was measured at 4.5 in (10 cm) long, 2.25 in (6 cm) tall, and 2 in (5 cm) wide.[1] National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Birchard stated that the event was "unprecedented."[2]

2012 Hawaii hailstorm
The record-setting hailstone being measured.
Damageminor
Areas affectedOahu, Lanai

In addition to the spectacular early-morning lightning storms and flooding from the 4 feet (3.3 meters) of rainfall received, a tornadic waterspout formed off the coast of Oahu during the morning of March 9, 2012. Non-supercullar waterspouts are not uncommon (the State of Hawaii records an average of one waterspout/tornado per year), this mesocyclone-induced waterspout tracked inland for 1.5 miles, becoming an EF0 tornado that caused minor damage to the Enchanted Lakes subdivision of Kailua at 7:10 am Hawaiian-Aleutian Time.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Hailstone sets state record in Hawaii". USA Today. March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  2. National Weather Service (March 9, 2012). "National Weather Service: Stormy weather brings 'unprecedented' hail storms over Hawaii". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  3. Hawaii News Now (KGMB-TV and KHNL-TV)


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