Data from E. Eccel and Colleagues Advance Knowledge in Climate
Research 2012 MAY 10 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to the
authors of recent research from San Michele All Adige, Italy,
"Hail climatology is usually weakly known and unsatisfactorily
standardised in measurement techniques. Trentino, in the Italian
Alps, boasts a 271-hailpad network operated since 1974, covering
nearly the whole of the regional agricultural area." "Many hail
indices, concerning both extensive and energetic features of
hailstorms, were investigated in a 35-year period, seeking for
climatic trends. The results show that, despite a slight, non-
significant trend of decrease in the number of events and in the
hit surfaces, most energetic indices, which are directly
correlated to the damage to crops, have increased in the period,
some at considerable rates. Particularly, indices referring to
extreme values show the clearest trends. The correlation with
atmospheric variables from ECMWF's reanalysis (ERA-40) was
considered. Data were p