stardognine

I got beat up, by hail yesterday, right here in sunny Phoenix. It was a right & proper conclusion, to a 3-day rain event, which also included flash flooding. The rain & flash flooding are pretty normal, I gather, but some of the locals were really tripping on the hail.
The hail lasted something like 20-30 minutes, and caught me out in the middle of nowhere. Actually on Broadway Road, where many junkyards brighten the landscape, for those who might be familiar.

In the pic of my hand, notice my pinky fingernail. It looks like I smacked it with a hammer.🤔😉

On the bright side, I saw a darn good rainbow, lol. 👍

indyfabz

That stuff can be injurious. During my two-week trip out west this past June I had to take cover amongst the trees while descending Gold Pass in ID to escape hail, which ended up not lasting long. Got hit again in the morning in Whitefish, MT. Fortunately, I was still at the state park. Storm started brewing. There is a corrugated metal cover over the picnic table at the hiker/biker sites. Lightning was pretty close so I went to the bathhouse to take cover. Not long after I got there it started hailing. I will try to remember to post a pic this evening.

Glad you are mostly OK.

stardognine

Thanks. 🙂 I still haven't really looked at my helmet, lol, I just left it on for the rest of the day, since I was still traveling. I imagine my face would have looked like my hands, without it. 😲

I just finished breakfast at McDonald's, across the street from Luke Air Force Base. It's kinda big, glad I have wheels. 😉

indyfabz

One of ACA's TransAm map sections for Montana warns people about hail storms and advises riders to always keep their helmets on during storms as well as seek shelter in a place like a barn.

In 2015 I was in camp in Hill City, SD. There was a storm in the area. Sounded like it would pass to the north of town, but it was dark so you couldn't really tell. In approximately 3 minutes it went from doing nothing where I was to hailing buckets. Barely got into my tent with stuff I wanted to protect. Some of the stones were about 3/4 the size of golf balls. I am convinced that the only thing that saved my tent fly from getting torn was the fact that I had pitched under a small tree. Very scary. The next morning I noticed a auto repair shop that advertised repairing hail damage. I also noticed that many people had metal shelter to park their cars under. Tells you something about the area.

tcs

Cycletouring across a fair amount of Buffalo Commons...there won't be anything to take shelter under!

I read a suggestion once of getting under your bike frame under your spread out tent (turned heavier bottom material up). Sounds a bit theoretical.

The rare weather pattern that produces hail:
https://cdn.britannica.com/29/24029-...much-storm.jpg

staehpj1

Ouch! I have been caught out in hail quite a few times on tour, but never bad enough to cause any real injury. Now big were the hail stones that caused those injuries?

I have seen some hail that would have been really bad, but always from under shelter thankfully. Not on tour but a few times I have seen golf ball to baseball sized hail that would have been pretty dangerous to be out in. I can't imagine what that would be like on the top of some empty mesa with no shelter for miles. BB to pea sized hail that I have been caught out in was unpleasant, but not too a big of a deal.

stardognine

Most was roughly quarter-sized, with some bigger half-dollar-sized ones thrown in, for variety. 😉 I think the wind made it worse, they said there were gusts up to 40 mph.

I saw a good hailstorm in Colorado too before, but didn't get pelted there. That one left about half a foot of hail on the ground, that didn't melt till the next day! That was definitely the MOST hail I've ever seen.

BTW, I got buzzed by several of those X-wing fighter jets this morning. 😎 I think they were trying to scare me, but I just made a mean face, and scared THEM off. 🙄😁😉

indyfabz

Now that you mention it, the ACA map may also suggest the bike and tent or sleeping bag. I know I also read something like what you read.

BobG

I sat out a Nebraska hailstorm in the comfort of my tent ...

BobG

I did too!


Harrison, Nebraska

indyfabz

The first photo is from Whitefish. When I finally left camp and went into town even the locals were surprised at what had happened. One way told me they usually don't get storms like that. The second shows some of the stones that hit the ground and bounced under my tent fly in Hill City. When I emerged from my tent I felt like I was walking on marbles.

stardognine

Right on. I think rainbows are one of the coolest things to see. Right up there with babies (of any species) and cool cars & bikes. 👍

thumpism 

Sounds like you need my new product, the HAILMET (patent pending).

stardognine

This might work. I do have a pretty big head. 🙄😁

Actually, my head's pretty smallish, for my height, which "might" be an indicator of a small mind. 🤔😉

indyfabz

THIS is what you need:

dwmckee

When I was a kid in the 70s I used to ride without a shirt on some nice days. On one such day I got caught in a hail storm with nickel-sized hail stones and MAN THOSE THINGS STING LIKE WASPS! I was in it for about 5 minutes before I got to an underpass for shelter. No permanent damage but I was covered in big red welts. LOTS of them. Three years ago while touring near Yellowstone we got caught in a hail storm with stones larger than golfballs. They broke lots of skylights and we saw many cars with broken windshields and dents all over after that. Thankfully we were able to get to shelter before the hail hit, but That could have been life-threatening if we were caugt out in it without protection.

stardognine

Yep, hail is a heck of a thing. 😉 I still haven't healed up that well, lol, but at least I didn't lose that pinky fingernail. It shows the bruise better now, and it's still a bit sore if I mess with it.

But it really doesn't bother me much, I gave myself a couple blisters, on the other hand, to take my mind off this one. 🙄😉