Northern Hail Project

@westernunhp.bsky.social

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Founded in 2022 by Western University, the NHP aims to detect and document hail events across Canada and uncover Canada’s true hail climatology. See https://uwo.ca/nhp/ & cssl.ca.

Three photo banner showing (left) gloved hands holding several real hailstones collected by the NHP field team, (center) two storm pursuit vehicles - white and green Ford Explorers, both with Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory Northern Hail Project decals - with Field Coordinator and intern standing in between the vehicles, (right) NHP intern explaining hail science to a young family.
Guide to reporting hail - when it is safe - take an overhead photo with a reference object (e.g., coins); do not hold hail in hands, it will melt even more quickly! Use a ruler, golf ball, baseball, etc., for reference a object if coins are not available; weigh the hail on a kitchen scale; provide information on where and when the hail occurred.
Julia standing proudly in front of opening slide of her master's thesis defense presentation with supervisors Dr. Greg Kopp and Dr. Julian Brimelow.
Image of map showing radar estimated extent of hailstorm swath through southern Alberta, beginning west of Twin Butte and tracking east-southeast through Cardston and areas to the south, continuing further east-southeast over and past Shanks Lake. Large areas with estimates over 50 mm max diameter, with several areas west of and over Shanks Lake with estimate maximum diameters of 75 mm.
Infographic indicating steps to collect scientifically accurate hail data: 1) take a photo of the hail with a reference object of known size; 2) Bag the hail in a plastic, sealable bag, removing as much air as possible; 3) Label the bag with critical information (date/time of collection, location of collection site).
Radar product showing heat map with estimated maximum hailstone sizes. Swath of estimate 50 mm or larger hail from north of Redvers, Saskatchewan to southwest of Hartney, Manitoba.
A field of canola flattened by the recent hail storm, with ground between destroyed plants still covered in hailstones.