An analysis of hail events to determine the location and vulnerability of "Hail Alley"

Keywords: hail, climate, spatial analysis, vulnerability
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Hail storms heavily contribute to the significant amount of damage caused by natural disasters. With severe hail events rising, this topic’s importance also rises. Historical hailstorm data was collected from the Storm Prediction Center for the U.S. and Environment Canada for Canada. Using this data, analysis was performed to try to identify the location of “Hail Alley”, which is believed to be a region of North America where hail is more frequent and is also more severe (i.e., larger size). It is hypothesized that “Hail Alley” will closely align with Tornado Alley. This is due to the conditions leading to thunderstorms that are capable of producing large hail and can also produce tornadoes. The second part of this research examines and provides details about the vulnerability of this area. This examination will be an analysis of the various types of damage from hail storms where data is available to determine the most common occurring type of damage and the typical dollar amounts associated with them. Other factors that can determine vulnerability will include crop type, crop damage, and building material. The intended outcome of this project will allow many different groups of people (e.g. general public, insurers, meteorologists, etc.) to better prepare for hailstorms and create mitigation efforts.