A thunderstorm is considered severe if it contains hail 3/4 inch in diameter or larger.

"Diameter" is the term referring to the WIDTH of a circular object.

Draw a line from one side of the circular object through the center of the object to the other side. That is the diameter. 3/4 inch diameter hail is about the size of a penny. Report any hail that is penny-sized or larger.

Avoid reporting "marble size hail." Marbles come in all sizes. Some marbles are big enough to be considered severe hail while others are not.

Instead, compare hail size to a coin. Hail stones that are penny size and larger are considered severe. You can also report hail sizes using familiar sports balls. Ohio can experience hail as large as a golf ball, a tennis ball or even a baseball.

The best way to get an accurate hail size is, of course, to measure it with a ruler. If different size hail stones are falling, report the size of the largest stones.

Hail Size	Description
.25 inch	Pea Size
.50 inch	Mothball Size
.75 inch	Penny Size (Severe Storm Threshold)
.88 inch	Nickel Size
1.00 inch	Quarter Size
1.25 inch	Half-Dollar Size
1.50 inch	Ping Pong Ball Size
1.75 inch	Golf Ball Size
2.00 inch	Hen Egg Size
2.50 inch	Tennis Ball Size
2.75 inch	Baseball Size
3.00 inch	Teacup Size
4.00 inch	Grapefruit Size
4.50 inch	Softball Size