Hail stones are known for breaking things but this time they've smashed a weather record.
Giant hail was reported to the Bureau of Meteorology yesterday afternoon, as severe thunderstorms rolled out across large parts of eastern Queensland.
It was the small community of Yalboroo, north of Mackay, that bore the brunt of the storm, recording mammoth hailstone measuring up to 16 centimetres.
According to BOM meteorologist Dean Narramore it was a new Australian record.
"Until yesterday, the record for largest hailstone observed in Australia was 14cm. This was set during severe thunderstorms in south-east Queensland on October 31 2020," he said.
"Hail needs exactly the right conditions to form, and giant hail needs this even more, varied factors to come together. This is why giant hail is quite rare.
"Yesterday, central and north Queensland had a combination of very cold, dry air and warm, moist air."
Mr Narramore said that once the storms had developed, the atmosphere became extremely unstable, allowing the hail to continue growing before gravity forced it to the ground.
The Bureau often rely on public reports to verify hail sizes during storm events to ensure data remains accurate.
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