Golf ball-sized hail, tree damage hit Sullivan County in storms
Ping pong ball-sized hail struck East Newport and golf ball-sized stones hit elsewhere in Sullivan County, with tree and wire damage reported near Sunapee.
Golf ball-sized hail hit Sullivan County on June 26, with the largest verified stone measuring 1.5 inches in East Newport on NH 103. The storm also left tree and wire damage on NH 11 near Sunapee, but no injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service office in Gray, Maine had already warned that the storm could cause damage as it tracked near Claremont and moved east at 30 mph. The warning called for 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail, and it said hail damage to vehicles was expected while wind damage to roofs, siding and trees was possible.
In East Newport, trained spotters and storm chasers reported ping pong ball-sized hail, which matched the 1.5-inch measurement logged for the area near Newport. Elsewhere in Sullivan County, reports described hail reaching golf ball size, adding to the damage risk for cars, roofs and landscaping across the storm path. Even where the worst stones missed, the combination of hail and strong winds was enough to bring down limbs and utilities, including the damage reported along NH 11 near Sunapee.
The same day’s hail reports stretched beyond Sullivan County, showing how broad the severe-weather outbreak was across New Hampshire. A separate report near Contoocook in Merrimack County measured hail at 2.0 inches, the largest hail reported in the state on June 26. That kind of size is consistent with the cracked windshields and dented hoods that follow fast-moving summer storms, and it helps explain why local damage can quickly turn into repair bills for drivers, homeowners and businesses.
The National Weather Service Gray office continued posting warnings and weather updates as the storms moved through the region. Official records of events like these are captured in NOAA’s Storm Events Database, which documents severe thunderstorm hail, damaging wind, lightning and other hazards for the public record. For Sullivan County, the June 26 storm now stands as one more reminder that even a short-lived thunderstorm can leave behind expensive cleanup on roads, at homes and along wooded stretches of the county.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
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