The following is an extract from the “Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini” of a terrible hail storm in Lyons, France, in 1544: “The hail at length rose to the size of lemons. At about half a mile’s distance all the trees were broken down, and all the cattle were deprived of life; we likewise found a great many shepherds killed, and we saw hailstones which a man would have found it a difficult matter to have grasped in both hands.”
New Hampshire has the record for the largest hailstones seen here so far; they were 4 inches in diameter and weighed 18 ounces, and were 12½ inches in circumferences.
RAINFALL
There are records in Japan of where rain has reached 30 inches in twenty-four hours; in India where it has reached 40 inches in twenty-four hours.
The average rainfall in the United States is 35 inches.
There are certain places in India where the yearly rainfall averages over 470 inches; whereas other regions of India show less than 4 inches.
The higher the clouds are in the air, the larger the drops of rain when they reach the earth.
The heaviest annual rainfall recorded any place in the world is on the Khasi Hills in Bengal, where it registered 600 inches. The major part of this was in half of the year.
The greatest amount of rainfall is in the northwestern part of the United States; the least amount is in Arizona, the southwestern part. In some parts of Egypt and Arabia, the only moisture that is received there is in the form of dew.
The average cloudiness of the earth has been estimated between 50 and 55 per cent. This amount slightly exceeds the cloud conditions of the United States.