Cromer hail — 19 June 2026

Hail at Cromer coast

A discrete supercell ran ENE across the north Norfolk coast on the afternoon of 19 June 2026, dropping 25 mm hail (loosely golf-ball range) at Cromer. The core was embedded — visually, the cell looked like an unremarkable mid-level shower up to the moment hail started cracking onto windscreens.

What set it up

CAPE was modest by Plains standards but well-shy-of-cap — the morning ascent showed the cap eroding through the morning. By 13:00 the surface had warmed enough to break the lid, and the south-easterly low-level flow combined with the prevailing 0–6 km bulk shear meant any cell that fired had room to organise.

Three things made this one worth chasing rather than logging:

• Discrete morphology — no MCS to fight for visibility through.
• Slow eastward motion — the cell was effectively walking, not running.
• Low LCL with a defined updraft base — the photogenic kind of structure.

What we saw

The hail core was tightly embedded — by the time you could see it, you were in it. From the field, the strike pattern hit a narrow corridor (perhaps 1.5 km wide) with the heaviest stones at the leading edge.

What to learn

For a marginal CAPE day in the 200–400 J/kg range with the right shear, don't dismiss the radar return that doesn't have a textbook hook. Discrete summer cells in southern UK don't always give you a pretty couplet to lock onto. Watch for the shear, the morphology, and the cell's individuality — embedded hail cores happen.

Reports

This post is anchored to the Cromer hail report. Verification status is currently unmatched — the cell stayed below MetOffice severity thresholds for an active warning, which is itself a reminder that unmatched ≠ false; it just means there was no parallel official advisory.

Coordinator note: this is the first member-anchored event recap on Chaseit. Cover image will auto-pick from the report's first photo if one is added.

— CSU-ONE