Terminal velocities and kinetic energies of natural hailstones

The physical properties of 2295 hailstones that developed in Great Plains (US) storms were measured, including their maximum dimension, mass, and cross-sectional area. Using these data, size-dependent relationships for their terminal velocities and kinetic energies are developed. These relationships can be used in weather forecast modeling and hail damage prediction and assessment. When hailstones are assumed to be spherical, their terminal velocities and kinetic energies are in agreement with what has been reported in previous studies. When non-sphericity is considered, which is the case for natural hail, the terminal velocities and kinetic energies are, on average, lower than those of spheres of the same maximum diameter, but can be larger.