OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — The hail threat for Saturday, April 25 just got upgraded — and the numbers are sobering. Forecasters are now comfortable calling for hail up to softball size — 4 inches in diameter — with the strongest supercells forming east of I-35 in eastern Oklahoma. The white softball zone on the maximum hail size map sits directly over Oklahoma City, Chickasha, Ardmore, Atoka, and Durant. Apple-sized hail extends east through Tulsa, Fort Smith, and into Arkansas. And egg-sized hail reaching 3.5 inches spreads south toward Dallas and north toward Wichita.
This is not a routine hail day. The atmosphere Saturday has a very specific and unusual combination of ingredients that makes giant hailstone growth not just possible but likely in the strongest storms.
The Hail Size Map — Who Gets What
The map covers a massive swath of the Southern Plains and Mid-South, with hail size potential decreasing outward from the central Oklahoma bull’s-eye:
Softball Zone — 4 inches diameter (white circle):
- Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, Norman, Chickasha, Lawton, Ardmore, Atoka, Durant — the core softball zone runs along and east of I-35 through central and southern Oklahoma
Apple-Sized Zone — 3.5 inches+ (pink/magenta):
- Oklahoma: Tulsa, Stillwater, Ponca City, Enid, McAlester, Hugo
- Arkansas: Fort Smith, Hot Springs — eastern extension of the large hail zone
- Texas: Paris, Sulphur Springs — southeastern edge
Egg-Sized Zone — 2 inches+ (purple):
- Kansas: Wichita, Independence, Bartlesville — northern spread
- Missouri: Joplin, Springfield fringe — far eastern edge
- Texas: Dallas, Waco corridor, McKinney — southern extension
- Arkansas: Little Rock, Jonesboro, Paragould — broad coverage
Quarter-Sized Zone — 1 inch+ (light purple outer ring):
- Kansas: Emporia, Iola — northern fringe
- Missouri: Joplin corridor
- Arkansas: Memphis border area, Clarksdale
- Texas: Tyler, Nacogdoches — deep southern Texas
Why Saturday’s Atmosphere Is Built Specifically to Grow Giant Hail
This is where Saturday separates itself from a typical hail day — and it comes down to four distinct atmospheric factors working together in an unusually cooperative way…