Perhaps among the most unpredictable and sudden of weather patterns, it is well known that hail can cause important disturbance. Broken windows, seriously dented cars, house shingles transformed into Swiss cheese… Hailstones measure at least 5 mm (0.2 in.) in diameter, and can be up to 15 cm (6 in.), so combined with strong winds and unstable conditions, they can rally spell bad news!
But it’s not just homes and vehicles that can be damaged by hail. Aircrafts can sometimes fly through hailstorms, and this can result in some scratches, dents and even holes in their fuselage. Among other incidents, a 15-minute hailstorm over Colorado damaged over 40 planes in the Denver airport in July 2011, delaying or cancelling the travelling plans of a thousand passengers.