WELL... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS SPECIFIC CRITERIA THEY LOOK FOR
BEFORE ISSUING A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING. THIS INCLUDES HAIL, WIND, AND EVEN TORNADOES. FIRST OFF... LET'S TALK ABOUT HAIL!
YOU CAN HAVE A THUNDERSTORM THAT PRODUCES HAIL, BUT IT'S NOT SEVERE BECAUSE THE SIZE OF THE HAIL ISN'T LARGE ENOUGH TO CAUSE DAMAGE.
FOR THE STORM TO BE CLASSIFIES AS SEVERE, THE HAIL NEEDS TO BE 1" IN DIAMETER, THE SIZE OF A QUARTER, OR LARGER. THAT'S WHEN YOU MIGHT
START TO SEE DENTS ON A CAR, BUT WE ALL KNOW HAIL CAN GET EVEN LARGER, AND PRODUCE SOME EXTREME DAMAGE TO CAR, BUILDINGS, AND CROPS.
NEXT WE ALSO LOOK AT THE WINDS OF THE THUNDERSTORMS AS ANY WINDS THAT EXCEED 58 MPH QUALIFY AS SEVERE. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS CAN CAUSE
EXTREME DAMAGE AS WAS THE CASE DURING LAST YEAR'S DERECHO IN IOWA, AS THAT COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED WIND GUSTS OVER 100 MPH
AND THAT CAN DO MORE DAMAGE THAN SOME TORNADOES, SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS JUST AS SERIOUS AS A TORNADO
WARNING. LASTLY, TORNADOES TECHNICALLY ARE SEVERE, BUT ARE IN A CLASS OF THEIR OWN. COMING UP ON WEDNESDAY, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT
TORNADOES IN MORE DETAIL AS THAT WILL BE THE TOPIC OF THE DAY AS PART OF SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK.

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