Driving Through Hail: Field Research that Helped Shape Modern Forensic Meteorology
My Time on Project HailSTONE
By Jared Leighton, CCM, Senior Forensic Meteorologist
Before joining Haag’s Forensic Meteorology team, I worked as a forecaster for the National Weather Service (NWS). During that time, I was invited to participate in a field project called the Hail Spatial and Temporal Observation Network Effort–better known as HailSTONE. The purpose of the project was simple but critical: to document and capture the true hailfall distribution in a severe storm to supplement our understanding of hail data garnered through NWS storm reports. This extra layer of understanding helps in the assessment and analysis of real-world storm damage.
The project had no organizational funding and no official sponsors. Instead, the idea was simple and a bit wild: use our own vehicles, on personal time, and on our own dime to drive into hail-producing supercells and collect high‑resolution hail data.
I told the project leader I was fine with that arrangement as long as the hail wasn’t too large.
“Well, that’s the point,” he said. “We want to map the largest hail inside these supercells.”
And with that, I agreed to sacrifice my time, money, and my beloved, smooth-paneled (for now) 4Runner in the name of science.
Collecting Real-Time Hail Data Inside a Severe Thunderstorm
Our first storm intercept on May 19, 2011, was a gentle introduction to the nonstop pounding of hail on a vehicle roof. Near Coldwater, Kansas, we encountered one‑inch hail—perfect conditions to practice intercept strategies and team coordination before the Southern Plains really came alive later that week.
On May 22nd, we were in Columbus, Kansas, waiting for afternoon storms to fire. That evening, we collected numerous 2- to 3‑inch hailstones from the same storm that would later produce the EF‑5 Joplin, Missouri tornado. Fortunately, our team was not in the tornado’s path—but witnessing the parent storm of such a catastrophic event was a sobering reminder of the risks we were taking.
Observing Extreme Hail Impact
With the previous day still fresh in our minds, we repositioned to central Oklahoma for what was expected to be a prolific large‑hail day. The Storm Prediction Center forecast warned that the environment “should once again support instances of very large hail.”
After a morning of forecasting, our team ended up in Gotebo, Oklahoma. We parked just south of the town’s main intersection, believing we were safely out of the core. But to the east, we could hear it—hail slamming the countryside with a roar like a herd of buffalo. The sky above us was sunny, yet only a mile away, the landscape was dark and violent. The contrast was surreal, a reminder that destructive hail can fall in a surprisingly narrow swath.
As the storm passed southeast of Gotebo, we began collecting hailstones. They started off in the 2- to 3‑inch range, but it didn’t take long before five‑inch stones began crashing down. For perspective:
- A standard softball is just under 4 inches in diameter.
- A DVD measures about 4.7 inches across.
We could hear the stones cutting through the air as they fell, some whizzing past us while we rushed to gather those already on the ground before they melted into the roadside ditches.
Finding Record-Sized Hail
Suddenly, the radio erupted. “COLLECTION TEAM… GET TO 1380 ROAD NOW! I REPEAT, 1380 ROAD! RECORD-SIZE HAIL ONGOING!”
We raced to the location, but most of the stones had already melted. Even so, our team managed to recover and measure a six‑inch hailstone, later verified by the Oklahoma State Climatologist as the largest hailstone ever recorded in Oklahoma—a record that still stands today. The largest hailstone reported to the NWS from the public was 3.51 inches, a stark contrast from the six-inch stone our team retrieved.
Why Field Experience Matters in Insurance and Litigation
NOAA’s official Storm Events Database initially captured only a small fraction of the hail reports from the May 23rd storm. After the HailSTONE collection team added more than 250 additional reports (Figure 2), a far clearer picture of the storm’s hailfall characteristics emerged. That was the purpose of the project in a nutshell—to observe, document, and analyze hail events with greater detail than traditional reporting methods allow.
Over my three years with HailSTONE, I observed dozens of hail-producing storms in real time, with hail sizes ranging from 1/4 inch to over 5 inches. Our team filled critical gaps by contributing thousands of additional reports that the National Weather Service (NWS) could not obtain through its standard verification practices. This experience proved invaluable—not only in helping support more accurate severe weather warnings within the NWS, but also in my current work as a forensic meteorologist at Haag, where storm reports and radar data are essential tools for reconstructing what occurred at a specific time and location.
Haag’s Trusted Forensic Meteorology Services
Haag Forensic Meteorology has built a team of meteorologists who have a combined 60 years of experience, observing, forecasting, broadcasting, researching, and issuing warnings for these storms. Meteorology isn’t just a job, it’s our passion, a passion that goes into each one of our projects.
Haag’s forensic meteorology services help clients determine weather conditions at a given location and time. Using a combination of local weather data, surface observations, radar, and/or storm reports, we provide expert analysis that support insurance claims, litigation, wrongful death lawsuits, motor vehicle accidents, etc. This type of analysis can be performed on its own or in conjunction with an engineering evaluation by one of our licensed engineers.
Our team includes meteorologist with the Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) designation from the American Meteorological Society. We regularly provide expert written and spoken testimony in cases involving:
- wind and hail events
- heavy rain and flooding
- roof collapses
- slip and fall accidents (winter weather)
- vehicle accidents
- personal injury and wrongful death claims
Let's Talk about Your Assignment
When weather is a factor in a claim or dispute, precise forensic meteorology analysis can clarify what occurred at a specific location and time. Whether you’re evaluating hail damage, catastrophic storm event, liability, or accident investigation, Haag’s forensic meteorology consultants provide defensible, data-driven conclusions for insurance claims and litigation. Submit an assignment or contact us to request a consultation with one of our experts.
Mr. Leighton has extensive, comprehensive experience in operational meteorology, including detection and analysis of large hail and damaging winds in his time issuing and supervising severe and winter weather warnings within NWS forecast operations. He regularly conducted tornado and hail surveys, both solo and as storm survey team lead, including multiple tornadoes in Kansas and Missouri, as well as a severe weather event on September 15, 2010, in which 7.75-inch hail occurred in Wichita, Kansas (the second largest certified hailstone recorded in the US). Mr. Leighton led and participated in several research teams, resulting in five peer-reviewed formal publications as well as presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. He also organized local storm spotter training in coordination with emergency management and led the Storm Ready community preparedness program.
Mr. Leighton earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of California Davis. He is an American Meteorological Society Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM #783).
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Haag, a Salas O’Brien Company or subsidiaries.
