Published Friday, June 27, 2003 

Stone measuring more than seven inches in diameter discovered, verified 

Last modified at 11:54 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, 2003
 

AURORA (AP) -- It appears to be a short-lived record.

A hail stone 17 3/8 inches in circumference was pulled Sunday from the ground by Gene Orth. Weather officials quickly dubbed it the state's largest on record.

Now another, bigger hail stone from that Sunday storm has been named not only the state's, but the nation's largest ever.

The giant hail stone measured 18 3/4 inches in circumference and seven inches in diameter, said Steve Kisner, a warning coordinator for the National Weather Service in Hastings.

That would make the stone 2 1/2 inches wider than a softball.

It would also best the national record set in 1970 by a 1.67-pound hail stone that crashed down in  Coffeyville, Kan. That chunk of ice was nearly a full inch smaller in circumference than the latest hail stone reported from Aurora.

Kisner said the National Climate Data Center would have to confirm the Aurora stone as the largest ever in the nation.

However, Kisner said he's confident the Nebraska hail stone will take the record. The Weather Service sent a team to measure the Aurora hail stone Wednesday.