Holy Hail! Viewers Catch Hail Downpour in Florida, Georgia – NewsFinale

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Severe hail battered parts of Florida and Georgia Wednesday night, damaging windows, fences and even pool and deck screens.

This hail is the product of some very intense storms.

The hail recipe

Florida is not known for its big hail. The southern latitude of the state and the border tropical climate make it very difficult for hail to develop.

To create hail, a variety of ingredients must come together.

First, cold air needs to exist below freezing in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere. This allows the water droplets to freeze, beginning the hail process.

Second, thunderstorms need to withstand strong updrafts. These updrafts lift developing hailstones into the atmosphere, allowing another layer of water to freeze on top of the existing hail.

Once the hail is so heavy that the updraft can no longer support it, the hailstone falls from the sky and hits the ground.

cold air above

In Florida, getting cold air up high can be difficult. But the atmosphere is set up a bit differently this week.

A pool of very cold air has developed over the state in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere.

This cold pool helps develop not just hail, but large hail. And that hail hit parts of central Florida Tuesday night.

Some of the most significant damage was reported in Lake and Osceola counties, just west and south of Orlando.

Hail covered the ground like snow, and damage to fences, windows, and pool screens was reported.

More hail on Wednesday

The pool of cold air in the mid-levels has actually gotten colder and the threat of large hail increased on Wednesday.

That was proven true when sister station News4JAX WKMG reported a dent avalanche on Interstate 95 in Brevard County.

The Storm Prediction Center placed much of Central Florida at increased risk for severe weather, highlighting the threat of large, destructive hail Wednesday.

Forecasters forecast a chance of 2-3″ hail.

SnapJAX users uploaded photos of hail on Wednesday. Here are some uploads.

Large hail is a rarity in the Sunshine State, but some cold air overhead is allowing impressive hail to impact Florida.