140 THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



An Astonishing Hailstorm. 



BY S. C, HUNTER, SUXAPKE, NEW HAMP- 

 SHIRE. 



On a bleak day in winter the rain often 

 turns to hail. Not so in summer. Sum- 

 mer hail has a different origin and is also 

 a much more serious affair. On the af- 

 ternoon of August 23rd. one of these 

 summer hailstorms passed over Lake 

 Sunapee and attained the proportions of 

 a phenomenon. After several days of 

 extreme, sultry heat the clouds began 



worst of the storm was confined to a lim- 

 ited area and lasted for only about ten 

 minutes. In this time, however, the ice 

 was piled in places six inches deep and 

 frightful havoc was wrought among the 

 trees. Careful measurements showed 

 that the hail ranged from the diameter of 

 a camphor ball to full two inches. They 

 were variously shaped and appeared to be 

 irregular chunks composed of smaller 

 particles welded together, sometimes 

 flat, sometimes round. The flat specimens 

 indicated a rotarv formation, the centers 



THE CUCUMIJER SMASHED BY A HAH.STGNE. 



to gather, but nothing unusual was indi- 

 cated. At the southwest end of the lake 

 the clouds finally concentrated and the 

 storm raged. At first it looked as if the 

 lake district would be spared, but soon the 

 encircling storm beg'an its approach from 

 due south and cjuickly swept the entire 

 lake accompanied by the usual squall with 

 thunder and lightning. Suddenly splashes 

 appeared over the surface of the water, 

 exactly like a minature picture of a sea 

 battle with the shot splashing" and plung- 

 ing. These splashes increased rapidly, 

 supplanting the rain, and as a violent tat- 

 too began on the roofs and boarded sur- 

 faces an ice bombardment was fairly un- 

 der way. In a moment the rain of ice 

 fell in a solid sheet. The water within 

 the visible radius was lashed into fury, 

 and the roar of the falling ice, accom- 

 panied by the commotion in the water, 

 which resembled a wild and furious boil- 

 ing, produced, with the thunder, lightning 

 and wind, a scene of terrifying grand- 

 eur. The ice soon covered the iground 

 and in a twinkling the landscape changed 

 from summer to winter. Fortunatelv the 



being much depressed. The round ones 

 measured four and three-quarters inches 

 in circumference, although, it is said, 

 some were found measuring seven in- 

 ches. Much of the ice was found next 

 morning, showing it required fifteen or 

 sixteen hours to melt. 



The trees, principally the birches, were 

 stripped nearly clean ; even the hardy 

 pines and firs suffered severely. As for 

 vegetable gardens and flowers, they were 

 laid low as if a mighty flail had pounded 

 them to pieces. Scarcely a glass window 

 that was not protected by a screen es- 

 caped destruction. The entire country- 

 side looked as if a blast from the furnace 

 Had scorched it. 



A similar storm occurred on Sunday, 

 July 2, 1916, in Concord, New Hamp- 

 shire, when the fall of ice was also lim- 

 ited to a small area. It would be inter- 

 esting to know if there is any record of 

 ice storms of greater severity. Had this 

 storm lasted for a longer period it 

 would have broken through the roofs of 

 many houses. As it was. several old roofs 

 were badly perforated. 



