ABSTRACT
This chapter involves two meteorological phenomena often addressed with weather extremes, hail and snow. The author begins the chapter with a brief discussion of ice crystal formation of snow and hail. This is followed by a discussion of why snow measurements are not yet accepted for inclusion in the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes. The final portion of the chapter involves the investigation of the heaviest hailstone for the Western Hemisphere, a hailstorm recovered from the small town of Vivian, South Dakota, on 23 June 2010. The chapter is followed by a short interlude of three ‘freakish’ stories, a) the inclusion of strange objects in hail, b) the problem of tea planting, leading to its own destruction from hail and c) King Edward III’s encounter with a deadly hailstorm in 1360, leading to a peace treaty with the French.
