Saharan dust linked to European hail events

Brennan, Killian P.; Wilhelm, Lena

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10823-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 18

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10823-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10823-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 18

Research article

|

19 Sep 2025

Research article |

| 19 Sep 2025

Saharan dust linked to European hail events

Killian P. Brennan and Lena Wilhelm

Data sets

CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service https://doi.org/10.24381/d58bbf47

ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1940 to present H. Hersbach et al. https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.adbb2d47

EURADHAIL: European-wide radar-based hail product from 2013-2021 R. Cui and I. Thurnherr https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000701924

World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) Monthly Thunder Hour Data R. H. Katrina Virts https://doi.org/10.5067/WWLLN/DATA101

Short summary

In this study, we discovered that natural dust carried into Europe significantly increases the likelihood of hailstorms. By analyzing dust data, weather records, and hail reports, we found that moderate dust levels lead to more frequent hail, while very high or low dust amounts reduce it. Adding dust information into statistical models improved forecasting skills.