Julia is the *first* in a line of NHP graduate students joining the ranks of Canada's next generation of severe weather scientists. We wish Julia all the very the best and look forward to her continued and future contributions to hail science! @cssl.ca
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Julia standing proudly in front of opening slide of her master's thesis defense presentation with supervisors Dr. Greg Kopp and Dr. Julian Brimelow.
**Important Announcement!**
Today, we congratulate NHP graduate student Julia Finlayson on the successful defense of her master's thesis, entitled "Development of a Low-Cost, Novel Piezoresistive Polymer Hail Sensor" under the supervision of Drs. Gregory Kopp and Julian Brimelow.
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*Survey Announcement*
Due to the rare nature of last week's hail event, researchers from the NHP & NTP will be conducting a damage survey tomorrow (March 21) of the region S and SW of Hopeville.
Please let us know if you have any damage reports or other info! #onstorm @westernuntp.bsky.social
This exceeds the two previous largest hail reports for March, tied at 40 mm ("ping pong" hail) from:
a) Niagara-on-the-Lake (March 24, 2021), and
b) Sault-Ste Marie (March 27, 1989).
This is also only the second time severe (>25 mm) hail has been recorded in Ontario in March since 2016.
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**Follow-Up** March 11 Hail Event #Onstorm:
A review of available historical data indicates that hail reported in the Hopeville area is the *largest* on record in March for both Ontario and Canada as a whole. Imagery from this event shows hail of at least 42 mm, poss exceeding 45 mm.
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Smaller hail was also reported in GTA and Goderich.
NHP is reviewing reports and will be comparing these to the historical record.
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Seeking Hail & Damage Reports #ONstorm:
At around 1 am, a hailstorm tracked NE of Mount Forest (see MRMS MESH below), with reports of hail over 40 mm in diameter and some vehicle damage (cracked windshield).
Investigation is ongoing.
Please forward any information you may have on this event!
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**Big Announcement**
The first CSSL Annual Report for the 2025 storm season is out! Updates on the NHP, NTP, and NMP's activities are now all in one convenient report.
👇👇👇Please see the link in the post below 👇👇👇
@westernuntp.bsky.social @westernunmp.bsky.social @cssl.ca
Preliminary data searches do not reveal any winter hail reports prior to 2016, nor any winter reports from any other Canadian provinces. #onstorm
Many thanks to @ontariowedges.bsky.social for forwarding so much info!
As always, please forward any info you see so we can hear about it!
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While hail during winter in Canada is very rare, it is not completely unprecedented... storms affecting parts of S Ontario on Jan 9, 2016 and Feb 27, 2024 produced severe sized (>25 mm) hail, with max diameters of 40 mm & 28 mm, respectively.
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**Winter Hail in SW Ontario!**
We have received numerous hail reports from last night's (Feb 18) thunderstorms in SW Ontario, w/ the largest est hail size from the Brigden area at ~24 mm. Hail reported in several other locations (London, St Thomas, Strathroy) was generally smaller ~5 to 10 mm.
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Thanks, Mike, stellar report curation as always! Looks like the MESH algorithm was running low yesterday, so I'm not surprised the biggest cell produced some ~25 mm stones when MRMS MESH was saying 15-20 mm.
*CSSL Summer Internship - Applications Closing Soon*
For those still interested in applying to the CSSL summer internship program, you still have until Monday, January 26, to get your applications in!
Details and application forms located here: www.uwo.ca/cssl/interns...
*Important announcement!*
CSSL Summer Internship Program applications are now live!
Spend the summer chasing hailstorms, documenting tornado impacts, and contributing to world-class storms research.
Details and applications located here: uwo.ca/cssl/interns...
Applications close January 26th.
Dive into real-world research and fieldwork with the CSSL Summer Internship Program!
Learn more and apply here: uwo.ca/cssl/interns...
Don't miss your chance to gain hands-on experience with leading tornado and hail experts in the field.
Applications close on January 26th.
Dive into real-world research and fieldwork with the CSSL Summer Internship Program!
Learn more and apply here: uwo.ca/cssl/interns...
Don't miss your chance to gain hands-on experience with leading tornado and hail experts in the field.
Applications close on January 26th.
Drone photo courtesy Brian Emfinger and used with permission.
The CSSL/NTP assisted the US National Weather Service (NWS) with their upgrading of the official rating of the June 2025 Enderlin, ND tornado from EF3 to EF5.
Announced by the NWS today, it’s the first EF5-rated tornado in the US since 2013.
Details here: uwo.ca/ntp/blog/202...
Image B. Emfinger
**Damage Survey Announcement: Following an extreme rainfall event and resulting flash flooding across SE Manitoba on Sept 11 & 12, a CSSL damage survey team will be conducting an assessment of the event's impacts. Please let us know if you have any rainfall and/or damage reports! #mbstorm @cssl.ca
“Scientists-turned-storm chasers” are tracking down Alberta hail storms to better understand how to protect against them.
Researchers from the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory ( @cssl.ca ) at #WesternU spoke with the @theglobeandmail.com about the Northern Hail Project.
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.
**Damage Survey Announcement #abstorm: Yesterday (July 27) a major hailstorm tracked from W of Twin Butte, through Cardston, E to the Shanks Lake area. An NHP damage survey team will begin data collection tomorrow. Please forward us any information you may have on this event!
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).
**Seeking Hail Reports: Calgary was affected by a potentially damaging hailstorm this evening (July 13) between 7:45 & 8:15 PM MT, tracking SE from the NW corner of the city to S of Chestermere. Please send us your hail and hail damage reports, and if you can, save some samples! #abstorm #Calgary
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.
**Survey Announcement: The CSSL’s Winnipeg team is conducting a damage survey of hail impacts in the Reston area following a major storm on the evening of July 3rd with radar estimated hail larger than baseballs (see MRMS MESH below). Let us know if you have any information on this storm!
#MBstorm
A field of canola flattened by the recent hail storm, with ground between destroyed plants still covered in hailstones.
**Survey Announcement: Yesterday (July 9), NHP Field Ops intercepted a damaging thunderstorm near the communities of Acme & Carbon, AB. A damage survey of the combined impacts of wind & hail in the area will be conducted later today. Let us know if you have any information on this storm! #abstorm
These platforms, Super Mobile Hail Observatories (SuMHOs), will be deployed by members of the NHP field team across the US plains during the #ICECHIP field campaign. ICECHIP endeavours to improve radar-based #hail detection, hail models and forecasting, and hail warnings. @nsficechip.bsky.social
The NHP has been busy preparing for field operations, both at home and abroad! For the #ICECHIP field campaign, the NHP and Western's UMS designed and built 4 platforms which collect and preserve hailstones, capture high-speed video of falling #hail, and measure hail fall speed with a small radar.
The Northern Hail Project is now active on Bluesky! Through our new Bluesky accounts, we hope to continue to engage with experts, citizen scientists, and other stakeholders to build on our knowledge and understanding of damaging hail across Canada.