Hail storms pummeled the Treasure Coast over the weekend; badly needed rain fell, too

Whether you looked online or saw it outside your window, you know the Treasure Coast got pummeled by a hail storms over the weekend.

Most of the hail came down Sunday, but there also were reports of hail late Saturday afternoon in Indian River County.

The largest hail stones reported were golf ball-sized, at around 1.75 inches in diameter, Sunday near the Snug Harbor neighborhood in Martin County, according to National Weather Service Melbourne Meteorologist Derrick Weitlich.

Is hail common in Florida?

Florida is in the midst of hail storm season, which runs from March to June, according to National Weather Service Melbourne Meteorologist Robert Haley.

Hail forms when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into cold areas of the atmosphere where they freeze, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The hail grows when it's repeatedly pushed upward, it hits more water droplets and it freezes even bigger.

"The only thing that sort of caught us off guard was that we knew that there was hail falling out there we didn't get a lot of reports, so we encourage people to call us or send us something on social media," Haley said.

Rainfall across the Treasure Coast

Thunderstorms also hit the Treasure Coast hard over the weekend, bringing at least a little rain after weeks of dry conditions.

Across the area, estimated rainfall reports indicate coastal St. Lucie County got around 3-4 inches of rain; parts of Indian River County got about a half-inch; and parts of Martin County got about 1-2 inches, according to Weitlich.

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @gonthescene.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Hail in Florida? Likely since its hail season