Hail — De Kalb, Georgia

2007-06-12 · near Stone Mtn, De Kalb, Georgia

Event narrative

Several reports of large hail were received from the public across eastern DeKalb county from just south of Stone Mountain to the Rockdale county line south of Lithonia. Quarter-sized hail reports in the Lithonia area were common, with one report of golf ball to tennis ball-sized hail.

Wider weather episode

Strong northwest flow, a result of an unseasonably deep polar vortex over the northeast U.S. and southeast Canada, combined with several short waves embedded within the northwest flow aloft, to lead to a two-day outbreak of severe thunderstorms. This was the most significant bout of severe weather north and central Georgia had experienced since mid-April with an almost complete lack of severe weather in May, normally a very active month. The activity peaked during the afternoon and evening hours, but lingered well overnight on the 11th into the early morning hours of the 12th. Most of these thunderstorms affected central and east central Georgia. More widespread severe thunderstorms were observed on the 12th, including much of the Atlanta metropolitan area. A number of the storms produced large hail, while a lesser amount produced damaging downburst winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.7566, -84.1700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 41548. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.