The Philippines, like other tropical countries, is known more for its balmy climate than for hailstorms. But a new Philippine study—the first of its kind—has found that the country’s hottest days are, in fact, more likely to produce hail.
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The largest hailstones ever recorded in the Philippines fell in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, on May 8, 2020. An infrared image from the HIMAWARI-8 weather satellite taken at the time shows the convective system associated with this hail event. The inset panel on the upper right shows the corresponding radar reflectivity scan suggesting high amounts of precipitation in the area. In the lower right are photos of hailstones recovered from the event. SOURCE: Ibañez et al., 2025 |
Hailstorms are so few and far between in the Philippines that, even in an age of pervasive social media updates, they are still met with amazement and astonishment.
