Recent Midwest Hailstorms May Find Their Origin In Pacific Ocean

An Iowa State University weather expert says a rapid transition between "La Nina" and "El Nino" weather phenomena in the Pacific Ocean may be causing recent Midwest thunderstorms producing unusually large hail. Meteorology Professor William Gallus says the state has seen four severe weather events in the storm season that have dropped two-inch hail. He says he hasn't seen anything like it in the nearly 30 years he's lived in Iowa. Gallus also says the rapid "La Nina - El Nino" transition makes it hard to say if the large-hail pattern will continue for the rest of the severe weather season. Over the weekend, grapefruit-sized hail fell in parts of Eastern Nebraska.