Spain's giant hail event worsened by marine heat waves, study finds

Hail is a semi-frequent visitor to winter, and occasionally summer, seasons across the globe and tends to pass by in a short but sharp downpour that can often be overlooked. However, sometimes these meteorological phenomena are hard to ignore. This was the case on 30 August 2022, when Gerona, north-eastern Spain, experienced a severe event in which individual hailstones reached a massive 12cm—the largest ever documented in the country. This led to serious damage to buildings, cars and agricultural areas, as well as 67 injuries and one fatality.