Hail on the way

  

Dark clouds to the west, headed our way.  A couple of these passing squalls brought hail to Bodega Head today (27 February 2023).   Here's a short video clip.  [If you're reading this in an e-mail and can't see the video player, click on the title of the post to go to the NHBH web page.]

 

Caught by the storm

Yesterday I had fun watching an isolated squall approach Bodega Head from offshore.  I was watching it out at sea, and could see that it was moving towards Bodega Head.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

3:13 p.m.

The contrast between the ocean ahead of the squall and within it was mesmerizing. 

3:14 p.m.

 

At first I thought it might slide to the north of where I was standing, and then I realized it wasn't going to, and I thought, "Uh oh...now I'm going to get soaked."  

3:16 p.m.

I took a few quick pictures and then turned to try to find shelter.  

3:18 p.m.

I knew that it was too late to stay dry, but I had had fun watching the storm.  Then all of a sudden I started getting pelted with hail!  It wasn't rain, so I had a little more fun taking a few pictures of the hailstones, and then I headed back in.

3:25 p.m.

 

No stone left unturned?

It was a dramatic weather day on Bodega Head (15 February 2019).  Several intense squalls passed over, with some producing small hail.  For the record, here's a photo and a video taken at ~1:15 p.m.  The largest hailstones were ~5 mm across.

 

The video below is ~20 seconds long.  (If you can't see the video player, click here to go to the web page.)

 

Hail 15 Feb 2019 from Jackie Sones on Vimeo.

Hail 2 March

We were driving to work this morning when it started to hail.  I haven't seen hail very often in Bodega Bay, so I was pretty excited.  I asked Eric to pull over so I could take a few pictures.  I tried recording a short video (see below).  And then, since the hail wasn't melting very fast, I went down to the beach to photograph the hail on the sand for the record.  [If you can't see the video below, click on the title of this post to go to the website.]

Hail 2 March 2018 from Jackie Sones on Vimeo.

I think I've only seen this once or twice in the last 10 years or so — hailstones being pushed up into a drift line by the waves:

 

Most of the hailstones were ~4 mm across:

 

Next, here's a series of photos with marine flora and fauna for context.

With coralline algae (bleached by the sun):

 

With snail egg capules:  

 

With a small sea urchin spine:

 

With a springtail (collembolid) on a hailstone (upper left corner)!

 

June thunderstorm

Late in the day, I looked up to see dark clouds on the eastern horizon:

 

Not too long after, a very loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky.  The thunder lasted for about 25-30 minutes, so I recorded a few examples.  The recordings are best heard with headphones, if you have them.  Otherwise, you might need to turn up the volume of your speakers.  [If you can't see the audio files below, click on the title of the post above to go to the website.]

It started to rain...and then the storm decided to add some pea-sized hail:

 

The thunderstorm moved off to the south, and the sky started to clear, but this wonderful storm ended with a grand finale:

 

 

Photos and recordings are from Cotati on 11 June 2017.

 

Hailman!

The forecast called for a chance of thunderstorms, and possible hail.  I was hopeful, but often these predictions fall short.  That was not the case today.

Around mid-day, we were treated to an amazing series of showers and thunderstorms, including lightning.  If you've been following the blog for a while, you know I can't resist recording thunder.  So here you go, two of the better thunder rolls from today.  Remember to turn your volume up.  If you have headphones, the listening experience is even better with them.  (There are a few birds calling, too — you'll hear Oak Titmice and American Crows.)





In the late afternoon we decided to go for a very short walk in Santa Rosa.  As we started down the trail, I was puzzled by what looked like ice among the grass.  When we looked closer, we realized it was hail!

 

We had only seen a tiny bit of hail at our house, but this was impressive.  In some areas, e.g., under shade and in low spots, the hail was so dense it looked like snow.  And then Eric had a brilliant idea:

 

A hailman!  For New Englanders who have been missing snowmen, this was the closest we've come to building one in Sonoma County since moving here 10 years ago.  I just wish the hailman didn't melt so quickly!  (And if we had known there had been so much hail, we certainly would have brought trays to try sledding.  Next time.)

Here are a few more pictures of the hail.  This was around 4-5 p.m.  I wish I had been there several hours earlier to see the new fallen hail.

Next to the trunk of a buckeye tree:

 

Surrounding stones next to a creek:

 

With ferns and moss:

 

The clouds associated with this thunder and hail were impressive.  Two examples after the storms had passed: