Hail Incidence in the Tropics

Abstract

This paper is a review and compilation of information concerning the incidence and frequency of hail fall in tropical areas. The authors have gathered the data over a period of years from literary sources and by extensive correspondence with private individuals and government meteorological services. The four areas under which the various hail reports are grouped, viz., the American, African, Asian, and Australian, together form a total band around the Earth within latitudes 23½ degrees north and south of the equator. Attempts have been made to systematize presentation of the information. This is possible only up to a point, however, since it was received in a multiplicity of forms, some of which defy conventional climatological handling. Nevertheless, the paper makes possible for the first time a comprehensive assessment of the tropical hail phenomenon. Moreover, a great deal can be learned from it about seasonality of hail fall in specific areas and about the occurrence of hail at sea level and over the sea, facts which have been in question up to this time.