Multiple Reports of Hail Falling; Weather System Responsible For Persistent Showers

Residents of the Saddler’s and Tabernacle have reported a brief hail shower this morning, April 6. Many videos have been circulating on social media platforms, purportedly showing the occurrence.

Multiple reports also suggest that this is not the first time that hail has fallen in St. Kitts and Nevis. Accounts point to a hail shower in the Bayford’s/ Cayon and Phillip’s areas, thirty years ago.

There have been persistent showers, since early this morning (April 6), on both islands. A bulleting from the Met Office, at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport, has tied the overcast and rainy conditions to a weak surface trough, available low-level moisture and an upper-level tough, across the Leeward Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

Hail is precipitation in the form of balls or irregular lumps of ice, always produced by convective clouds, nearly always cumulonimbus. Meteorologists Brian Shields identified the height of the storm clouds as the reason for the hail shower.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also issued a statement saying that the MET Office is assessing the reports and an update will be provided once the assessment is complete.