Nearly 6-inch diameter hail falls near Chokio, largest reported Minnesota hailstone in 38 years
CHOKIO, Minn. — Storms Wednesday night left behind the largest reported hailstone in Minnesota in 38 years.
The hail fell roughly 4 miles northwest of Chokio, in western Minnesota, and was found by Matt Benson in his backyard. It measured nearly 6 inches in diameter.
"It kind of came out of nowhere here at work, and before you knew it, we closed the doors, and the wind swirled in, and it was pretty crazy for a little bit," Benson said.
He said he made his way home shortly before 5 p.m. and made it inside.
"The next thing I knew, there was baseball-sized hail," Benson said.
He said he walked around to see how big all the hail was and found the hailstone around 10 or 15 feet from his garage.
"I mean, I've heard of like, soft-ball-sized hail, but not around Minnesota," he said. "I needed to get a measurement and see how big it was. And yeah, 6 inches. I was like, this is unbelievable!"
Benson said his steel roof is badly dented and the back window of one of his SUVs was completely blown out.
"It was cool for a moment," Benson said. "I wouldn't wish anyone to be out and about, walking around and something like that."
The Minnesota State Climatologist Office said the last time a 6-inch diameter hailstone fell in Minnesota was in July of 1986 in Nobles County.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said the hailstone was the largest reported in Minnesota in 55 years, based on information provided by the Minnesota State Climatologist Office at the time. The office updated their data on Friday afternoon, and this story has been updated to reflect the most recent information.