The episodic occurrence of hail in central Alberta and the Highveld of South Africa: Research note

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Abstract
The frequency and duration of hail day episodes were analyzed based on 29 summers of hail data from central Alberta, Canada and 19 summers of data from the Highveld, South Africa. A hail episode consists of one or more consecutive days with at least one hail report. A severe hail episode is deþned as an episode that has at least one day of maximum hail size ≥ 33 mm for Alberta, (≥ 31 mm for the Highveld). Severe and non‐severe hail episodes are found to occur, on average, 6.6 and 11.2 times in Alberta, respectively, with mean durations of 4.2 and 2.1 days. In the Highveld, severe and non‐severe hail episodes occur, on average, 2.8 and 21.9 times per six‐month summer and have mean durations of 4.9 and 2.5 days.