Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-176
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-176
15 Feb 2023
 | 15 Feb 2023

Climatology of Large Hail in Europe: Characteristics of the European Severe Weather Database

Faye Hulton and David M. Schultz

Abstract. Large hail (greater than 2 cm in diameter) can cause devastating damage to crops and property, and can even cause loss of life. Because hail reports are often collected by individual countries, constructing a European-wide large-hail climatology has been challenging to date. However, the European Severe Storm Laboratory’s European Severe Weather Database provides the only pan-European dataset for severe convective storms. The database is comprised of 62,053 large-hail reports from 40 C.E. to September 2020, yet its characteristics have not been evaluated. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate this database for the purposes of constructing a climatology of large hail. For the period 2000–2020, large-hail reports are most prominent in June, whereas large-hail days are most common in July. Large hail is mostly reported between 1300–1900 local time, a consistent pattern since 2010. The intensity, as measured by maximum hail size, shows decreasing frequency with increasing hailstone diameter, and no change over the 20-year period. The quality of reports by country varies, with the most complete reporting being from central European countries. These results suggest that despite its short record, many indications are that the dataset represents some reliable aspects of European large-hail climatology, albeit with some limitations.

Faye Hulton and David M. Schultz

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-176', Anonymous Referee #1, 01 Mar 2023
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Faye Hulton, 08 May 2023
    • AC4: 'Reply on RC1', Faye Hulton, 09 May 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-176', Anonymous Referee #2, 07 Mar 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Faye Hulton, 08 May 2023
    • AC5: 'Reply on RC2', Faye Hulton, 09 May 2023
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-176', Anonymous Referee #3, 13 Mar 2023
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC3', Faye Hulton, 08 May 2023
    • AC6: 'Reply on RC3', Faye Hulton, 09 May 2023

Faye Hulton and David M. Schultz

Faye Hulton and David M. Schultz

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Short summary
Large hail devastates crops and property, and can injure and kill people and livestock. Hail reports are collected by individual countries, so understanding where and when large hail occurs across Europe is incomplete. We use the European Severe Weather Database to evaluate this database to understand the quality of reports by year and by country since 2000. Despite its short record, the dataset appears to represent aspects of European large-hail climatology reliably.