Project Status: Active

30 Sep 2009: Autumn has arrived and with it comes a secondary maximum in severe weather activity. Currently, the atmosphere appears likely to produce severe thunderstorms in the HaSDEx project area, with the main threats being wind and hail. If yoe observe hail, please report it and, if you happen to be in heavy rain without hail, please report that, too!

NSSL wants central Oklahomans to be a part of a research project!

The Hail Size Discrimination project (HaSDEx) is looking for young, old, and in-between volunteers (teachers, classes and families too) to watch and report on hail size at their locations. This is the third year of the HaSDEx project and we have had great success because of YOU!

HaSDEx volunteers can spend a little or a lot of time making observations. The basic idea is simple: NSSL will collect radar data during winter storm events within about 90 miles of Norman, OK. Because the radars cannot see close to the ground, we need YOU to tell us. Are you getting pounded? Is there a layer of pea-sized hail in your backyard? Tell us where you are and what is hitting the ground. We will compare your location report with what the radar has detected.

The report is easy. Click on the "I Want to Volunteer!" button (or the report form link to the left) to check it out. We only ask for the date, time, location, and size of the hail you've seen. There is no commitment, and no minimum amount of reports. Hail size data are particularly rare and we need as many observations as we can get!

Please note: While these data are important, safety is absolutely essential. Please read the safety tips here.

The information that we receive from HaSDEx volunteers will support NSSL scientists in developing new radar technologies and techniques to determine what kind of precipitation is falling at any given location.