Pineapple-size hailstone found by storm chasers in Texas 'could set new record'

A massive hailstone around the size of a pineapple found in Texas could set a new record for the state.

Val and Amy Castor, veteran storm chasers with Oklahoma City television station KWTV, discovered a piece of hail more than 7 inches long on Sunday along the side of the road near the state’s Vigo Park while they were chasing a major thunderstorm system.

Mr Castor said the stone was about the size of a pineapple.

“That's the biggest hail I've ever seen, and I've been chasing storms for more than 30 years," he said.

He said several baseball-sized hailstones fell while he was driving, including one that cracked his windshield, before he spotted the big piece in a ditch on the side of the road.

“I could see it from probably 100 yards away," he said.

The massive hail stone is believed to be a new state record, topping a 6.4-inch (16.25-centimeter) hail stone found in Hondo, southwest of Austin, in 2021.

It still must be confirmed by a group of researchers that includes the Texas state climatologist, said Jordan Salem, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Lubbock.

The heaviest hailstone on record in the United States had a reported diameter of 11 inches and weighed nearly 2 pounds (907 grams). 

It was discovered near Vivian, South Dakota, in July 2010, according to the US National Centers for Environmental Information.