"And, perhaps echoing the "hail of bullets" theme, the Dalton Defenders Museum has another unique and -- potentially, at least -- deadly display: a plaster replica of the "largest hailstone on record," 17.5 inches in circumference, 1.67 pounds.

"It fell on Coffeyville on September 3, 1970, roughly a century after the Dalton carnage. "Scientists concluded that it struck the ground at a rate of speed of about 105 mph." Wouldn't that have smashed it into smaller hailstones? Or maybe the 1.67-pounder is a smaller hailstone," the Roadside America says.

"The record has been broken. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a hailstone fell in Aurora, Nebraska, on June 22, 2003, which had a diameter of 7 inches and circumference of 18.75 inches. This hailstone, however, only weighed 1.3 pounds," the City of Coffeyville says.

"Early on the evening of September 3, 1970, the heaviest hailstone on record fell in Coffeyville. The hailstone measured 17.5 inches in circumference, weighed 1.67 pounds and scientists estimated that it struck the ground at the speed of 105 MPH.

"The stone was sent to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and a replica is on display at the Dalton Defenders Museum."

"In June of 2003 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported a 7-inch diameter hailstone fell in Aurora, Nebraska. It's circumference was recorded at 18.75 inches, beating out the 17.5 inch World Record which had been held (tightly) by Coffeyville, Kansas since September 3, 1970. But since hailstones challenging the world's record need to be sent to the Boulder, Colorado laboratory for verification, there's no telling how much weight, diameter or circumference was lost in transit," the Texas Escapes says.

"The Coffeyville stone, however, weighed in at 1.67 pounds while the Nebraska entry was an anemic 1.3 pounds. The truth is: no one cares about circumference. When was the last time you heard a fisherman brag about catching a 16-inch circumference bass?
 
"Coffeyvillains must be detail-oriented folk. How else can you explain their locating someone who could estimated that the Coffeyville 'stone struck the earth (and thankfully no one's head) at 105 MPH. No one reported the speed of the Nebraska stone, so Coffeyville (for now) can also claim the World's Fastest Hailstone."

"HAILSTONE: It's an immutable law of nature that hailstones melt after they hit the ground," the Washington Post says.



"So the Dalton Museum in Coffeyville, Kan., can't be blamed for displaying only a replica of the world's largest hailstone. But did it really look like a papier-mache blob the size of a cantaloupe? Probably. That's the kind of thing people just don't take the time to fake."

"...LARGEST HAILSTONE ON RECORD..." the NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE says

PRIOR TO TODAY...THE LARGEST HAILSTONE ON RECORD OCCURRED IN COFFEYVILLE KANSAS ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1970.  THIS STONE MEASURED 5.7 INCHES IN DIAMETER...17.5 INCHES IN CIRCUMFERENCE AND WEIGHED 1.67 POUNDS."

"Hail is a type of precipitation often composed of concentric spheres of alternating clear and opaque ice, having a diameter of up to 50 or more mm," the Springer Nature says..

"The largest single hailstone on record to fall in the United States (see Fig. 1) struck Coffeyville, Kansas, on September 3, 1970. It had a diameter of 15.2 cm (5.9 in) and weighed 766 grams (1.7 pounds). Individual hailstones may fuse and produce irregular shaped lumps of ice, often of considerable size."

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