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I don’t understand how “DVD” sized hail is different from “grapefruit” sized. A DVD is 120mm, or about 4 3/4 inches. A grapefruit is “ranges from 100 to 150 mm
by adolph 2y ago
I don’t understand how “DVD” sized hail is different from “grapefruit” sized. A DVD is 120mm, or about 4 3/4 inches. A grapefruit is “ranges from 100 to 150 mm (4 to 6 inches) in diameter, its size depending upon the variety and upon growing conditions.” [0]
Also, the hail depicted in the image did not appear to be one hailstone but an accumulation of several.
0. https://www.britannica.com/plant/grapefruit https://www.britannica.com/plant/grapefruit
- r2_pilot 2y ago>Also, the hail depicted in the image did not appear to be one hailstone but an accumulation of several. Concretions of hailstones in the air do occur which is how you can get to these larger diameters.
- dylan604 2y agoSomething this large would have a difficult time forming any other way. The sheer weight of it would cause it to not stay aloft long enough to get to that size. Also, does it matter how it was formed? A chunk of ice of that size falling from the ground causing damage doesn't care if it's a single round ice cube for a really large cocktail glass or if it made up of lots of smaller things frozen together as a single piece of ice. The object getting hit doesn't care of it's formation and makeup either. It's still going to hurt. Bad.
- adolph 2y agoThe size of a single hailstone indicates the number of times it was relofted and another layer added to it. This quantifies the storm in a way that an aggregate of smaller stones doesn’t.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tuckerpo 2y agoCiting the dimensions of a grapefruit... Hackernews, never change
- abadpoli 2y agoIt’s different because the National Weather Service uses “grapefruit-sized” specifically to refer to hail that is more than 4.5 inches in diameter but no more than 5 inches in diameter. It isn’t “any hail that is about the size of a grapefruit”. This hail was bigger than 5 inches, so NWS needed a new term for it per their estimation guidelines.
- microtherion 2y agoBetter than Banana sized, I guess.
- adolph 2y agoUsing “DVD” doesn’t seem to make sense because, as noted, the diameter of a DVD is less than 5 inches.
- pessimizer 2y agoAlso children may not even know what a DVD is, so "new" is a reach. In 2034 it's going to be just like saying "8-track sized" in 2024.
- itronitron 2y agonext size up from grapefruit is pomelo I think, then maybe durian, or cantelope, then honeydew and watermelon
- rqtwteye 2y agoNext size up from grapefruit according to ISO is small red cabbage, then small green cabbage followed by cantaloupe.
- rufus_foreman 2y agoAs a weatherman, David Letterman once described hail stones from a storm as being "the size of canned hams".