MONDAY: CoCoRaHS Hail Reports: How to Measure, Report, and Submit Photos of Hail

Reporting hail, and photos of hail, is now easier than ever, especially with the new CoCoRaHS smartphone App, or by going to https://mobile.cocorahs.org/ on your smartphone. Standard website users will now see the photo upload feature directly on the hail report form, too. 

Entering hail data: If you experience hail at your location (even the small stuff) please use the CoCoRaHS hail report form found in the left-hand menu of your data entry page, or in the drop-down menu from the App (or mobile site https://mobile.cocorahs.org/). Even if you don't have much information about the hail or weren't home to know exactly when it happened, still send in a report and fill in what you know and skip the parts that you don't.

NEW!! -- Tips for submitting hail photos

Up to four photos can be uploaded with a max file size of 5MB each:

• Safety first!  Please DO NOT go outside during a hailstorm.  Keep a safe distance from windows and take notes of the timing and other aspects of the event while it is happening.
• Once it is safe, try to collect a variety of stone sizes - not just the largest.
• "Look mom, no hands!"  DO NOT hold the hail in your hand for the photo! Hands come in all sizes and are not a good indicator for scale.
• It's best if you can align the stones next to a ruler (or a specialized hail ruler) or other measuring device. Here is a great example with a ruler, and another one using a "hail measuring board".

Viewing hail data can be done through the "View Data" page or on our interactive map with the options set to view hail.

You may choose to have a printed version of the hail report form where you can use a pen or pencil to mark things down as the storm is happening and then enter the data afterwards.

You can also watch can our animation about measuring hail, but we are now prioritizing photos instead of hail pads. Learn more about what is happening with hail pads tomorrow.