Hail-producing thunderstorm at Kandahar, Afghanistan
EUMETSAT Meteosat-7 0.7 µm visible channel images (click image to play animation)
A thunderstorm produced golf-ball-size hail that reportedly lasted up to 30 minutes at Kandahar, Afghanistan on 23 April 2013. This hail was responsible for 3 fatalities, and damaged dozens of US and British military helicopters and aircraft stationed at Kandahar International Airport. McIDAS images of EUMETSAT Meteosat-7 0.7 µm visible channel images (above; click image to play animation) and 11.5 µm IR channel images (below; click image to play animation) showed the rapid development of the relatively compact thunderstorm as it passed over Kandahar International Airport (denoted by the “*” symbol). Shadow-casting overshooting tops were evident on the visible imagery, and the cloud-top IR brightness temperature cooled to -66 C (dark red color enhancement) at 08:30 UTC.
EUMETSAT Meteosat-7 11.5 µm IR channel images (click image to play animation)