Articles | Volume 23, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1549-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1549-2023
Research article
 | 
26 Apr 2023
Research article |  | 26 Apr 2023

Characteristics of hail hazard in South Africa based on satellite detection of convective storms

Heinz Jürgen Punge, Kristopher M. Bedka, Michael Kunz, Sarah D. Bang, and Kyle F. Itterly

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Cited articles

Adler, R. F., Markus, M. J., and Fenn, D. D.: Detection of Severe Midwest Thunderstorms Using Geosynchronous Satellite Data, Mon. Weather Rev., 113, 769–781, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1985)113<0769:DOSMTU>2.0.CO;2, 1985. a
Admirat, P., Goyer, G. G., Wojtiw, L., Carte, E. A., Roos, D., and Lozowki, E. P.: A comparative study of hailstorms in Switzerland, Canada and South Africa, J. Climate, 5, 35–51, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370050104, 1985. a, b
Allen, J. T., Tippett, M. K., and Sobel, A. H.: An empirical model relating U.S. monthly hail occurrence to large-scale meteorological environment, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syt., 7, 226–243, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014MS000397, 2015. a, b
Allen, J. T., Giammanco, I. M., Kumjian, M. R., Punge, H. J., Zhang, Q., Groenemeijer, P., Kunz, M., and Ortega, K.: Undertanding Hail in the Earth System, Rev. Geophys., 58, e2019RG000665, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000665, 2020. a, b, c
Ayob, N.: Hail nowcasting over the South African Highveld, MS thesis, North-West University, South Africa, https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/33836 (last access: 21 April 2023), 2019. a
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We have estimated the probability of hail events in South Africa using a combination of satellite observations, reanalysis, and insurance claims data. It is found that hail is mainly concentrated in the southeast. Multivariate stochastic modeling of event characteristics, such as multiple events per day or track dimensions, provides an event catalogue for 25 000 years. This can be used to estimate hail risk for return periods of 200 years, as required by insurance companies.
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