HAILSTONES

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent (about 60 lbs.): and men blasphemed God because of the plaque of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

—Rev. 16:21

2114 Hail Damage Report

Damages each year from hailstorms in the U. S. run about 700 million dollars, nearly one-half of which are losses in crops. While damage to physical property and persons are notable, the most damaging aspect of hail lies in crop losses.

2115 Largest Hailstone

The largest hailstone recorded fell in 1970 in Coffeyville, Kansas. The stone weighed 1.60 lbs. and had a diameter of 7½ inches. Its total circumference came out to 17½ inches.

The hailstones at the Great Tribulation will be unprecedentedly large.

2116 Trying To Decrease Hail

Scientists have found out they are able to decrease the amount of hail reaching the ground by about 30% in a specific area. Continuous experimentation is being carried out by the National Hail Research Experiment which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Russian experts have claimed to be able to reduce crop damage from hail by 70–90% in some experiments.

2117 A Monument To Hail

Perhaps one of the world’s strangest monuments, at Barton, Lincolnshire, commemorates a fierce hailstorm which occurred on July 3, 1883.

The inscription reads:

“In memory of the great hailstorm at Barton, July 3, 1883, 10:30 to 11 p. m. Ice 5 in. long, 3 in. wide—15 tons of glass broken—ice weighed 2½ oz.”

The “ice” referred to the size of some of the largest hailstones.

The monument is built of bricks which were newly-made and still hardening at the time of the storm. They bear the deep indentations made by the hailstones.

—Selected

2118 H-Bomb Forms Hailstones

Reports that have been made public concerning the U. S. hydrogen bomb tests in the Marshall Islands off the Pacific Ocean indicate that there is not only an intense “fire-ball” plus the destructive Beta and Gamma-rays, but there are also great hailstones accompanying the explosion.

Large dents in the armor-plating on the surface ships located in the Eniwetok test area were noted. At first this seemed a mystery, but films and other data compiled at the time of the tests indicated that the tremendous air turbulance caused by the blasts resulted in the formation of hailstones of very large proportions. It was determined that huge hailstones were the cause of the dents even in the armor-plating of these ships.

2119 Hail Prophecy Came True

One night in 1883, the weary editor of a New England farmer’s almanac closed his desk and prepared to leave. He had predicted the weather conditions for every day of the coming year except July 13th and that could be filled in the next morning.

That evening an agitated office boy arrived with word that the printer’s deadline had been moved up and the completed copy for the almanac must go out on the next train. The editor ordered impatiently: “Put in something suitable for July 13th—but don’t bother me.”

Finished copies had been distributed when the editor, worrying a bit about sales—for the margin of profit was small—happened to notice the prediction for July 13th. It read: “Wind, Hail and Snow.”

Livid with rage, he summoned the office boy. The lad stammered that he thought such weather would be nice—and unusual for that date. In despair, the editor resigned himself to bankruptcy.

But on the morning of July 13th, 1884, wind, hail and snow did descend upon New England. By this one prediction, the almanac became both famous and prosperous—all because of an office boy’s farfetched prophecy.

—Oliver Wendell Holmes

See also: Storms ; Heavenly Phenomenon ; Ezk. 38:22; Rev. 8:7; 11:19.