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A storm chase into the Blue Mountains on 2 January 2019 turned into a run with giant hail. The chaser drove straight to a developing supercell, stopped near Katoomba to photograph the structure, then headed north to play catch up and find out how big the stones were. Big thumps on the car along the way suggested at least golf balls. Closer to Bell they got bigger, and there were hail drifts piled on the ground. The next half hour or so was spent hunting through the scatter for giants over 5 cm, which is harder than it sounds when the stones are spread out and melting. One was found and measured at 5.5 cm across. Hail that size falls fast enough to dent panels and crack glass, and up there on the ridgeline it arrived with little warning. It was a sharp reminder that the Blue Mountains sit right in the path of storms building off the plains west of Sydney.
