Devastating Results : The Intense Damage Caused By A Hail Storm

America

Business Insider 
July 7, 2014


 Storm photographer Mike Hollingshead has been chasing the worst storms in America for the better part of the last two decades. He's seen quite a few storms and yet, he's never seen one quite like the storm he experienced last month in his hometown of Blair, Nebraska.

On June 3, heavy winds and large hail ripped through Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest in what meteorologists called a "land hurricane." The storm was so unique because it combined elements of a derecho storm with a supercell, producing incredible hail with devastating results.

A derecho is a windstorm that has extremely powerful straight-line winds, but rarely produces hail. Supercells are massive thunderstorms, characterized by a deep, persistent, updraft. Supercells often produce hailstones, but the cyclical nature of supercell wind ensures that large hail usually just hits the roofs of buildings, doing little damage.

When the two combined, it produced massive hailstones being whipped at buildings, houses, and cars with devastating force.
 

Hollingshead drove around Blair after the storm to check out the aftermath. It wasn't pretty. He shared some photos with us here, but you can check out more at his blog, Extreme Instability.

Wind speeds outside of the towns got as high as 70-100 mph. The hail literally forced people off the road.