From Sun to Hail

What is Hail?

Hail is a form of precipitation where ice called hailstones falls from the sky. It is usually associated with colder climates or the winter season. Hailstones begin as water vapour that is condensed into small water droplets. At the top of a thunderstorm, temperatures reach between -50 to -60oC, and these tiny droplets are swept up into this zone where it freezes and forms layers of ice around the initial water droplet as more water comes up into this region, thereby producing hail.

Video 1: Showing someone in the Arouca area picking up hail in their yard (2021)

Is Hail in the T&T Normal?

The occurrence of hail across Trinidad and Tobago is not exactly unheard of. In the last 3 years, there have been many reports of hail in areas such as Maraval, Diego Martin, Arouca, Trinicity, San Fernando, and many more. Although we live in the tropics and usually experience warm temperatures, the thunderstorms we experience bring the temperature down low enough to freeze the water droplets. The hailstones we typically see locally are very small, between 1cm and 3cm. However, although reports of hail have increased and gained more publicity in the more recent years, reports of hail in Trinidad and Tobago have been evident since the 1980s, with the most notable occurrence being in 1996. On August 12th, 1996, there was our first confirmed hailstorm in La Romain, San Fernando, and Penal. This confirmation came from Robin Maharaj, a weather forecaster at the time. This is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago, but other Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, Barbados, and St. Kitts have had similar reports.

Figure 1: Showing a piece of ice compared to someone's hand (2021)

Should we be worried?

Hail should not be a cause of concern for Trinibagonians since it is usually small pieces of ice and could only cause minor damages. However, it could be an indicator of climate change. Though hailstorms have occurred in the past but in recent times have become much more frequent with at least 2 reports of hail in 2020 and one thus far for 2021. The temperature range in the Caribbean is now becoming larger with temperatures reaching new highs and lows. We could expect that hail would make a more frequent appearance in our weather.

Figure 2: Showing typical weather in T&T (2020)


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