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Hail falls on Fayette

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

A storm with pea-sized hail triggered when warm air collided with a cold surface pummeled Fayetteville and other areas north of Peachtree City during a thunderstorm Wednesday.

The hail surge occurred during an elevated thunderstorm that swept through portions of Fayette County between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., Meteorologist Gerald Birdow of the National Weather Service in Peachtree City said. The thunderstorm mixed with hail was surfaced-based.

“We had cold air at the surface and we had warm air above the surface about 1,900 feet above the surface,” Birdow said. “This generally happens in the winter months.”

The thunderstorm was forecast, but weather experts did not add a hailstorm to the prediction, Birdow added.

“When we saw lightning coming out of Alabama we updated the forecast,” Birdow said. “The hail was not forecast. It is hard to predict.”

The thunderstorm brought 30 to 40 mph wind gusts. Although many trees were weakened from the precipitation from the Jan. 28 ice storm, no trees were reportedly uprooted during the storm, weather officials said.