Dozens of storm-chasing meteorologists have undertaken the largest-ever study of extreme hail across the US Great Plains. New Scientist environment reporter James Dinneen hitched a ride inside a fortified truck called the Hail Hunter to get an inside view of the campaign during one of the most extreme hailstorms to affect the Texas panhandle on 5 June.

The project, known as ICECHIP, collected more than 10,000 hailstones over 42 days, as well as huge volumes of data on virtually every aspect of the storms that produced them. The largest stone they collected was 149 millimetres in diameter, about the size of a large grapefruit. Such hailstones can be extraordinarily destructive. Every year, extreme hailstorms in the US cause billions of dollars of damage to cars, roofs, crops and, increasingly, solar panels. Large stones are also becoming more common in Europe, possibly due to climate change shifting the behaviour of storms there.

However, our ability to forecast which storms will produce the biggest hail is remarkably limited. As with other types of extreme weather, this leaves us more vulnerable to their effects. The ICECHIP researchers believe that this new view of hail will significantly improve forecasts of and preparedness for these types of storms, underscoring the value of weather science in protecting against extreme events.