ICECHIP, the In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the collection of Hail in the Plains, is the first field project focused on hail in roughly 40 years. The idea behind ICECHIP was born back in 2018 but is now a reality.
A team of nearly 90 people from around the world will travel across the Great Plains for 40 days to study the ins and outs of hail. The team will use mobile radars, unpiloted aerial systems, lofted drifters and probes, laser scanning technology, high resolution cameras, and more traditional field observations. The data will be used to obtain synchronized and comprehensive observations of hailstorms, the hailstones they produce, and the damage they cause.
Ultimately, the data and accompanying analysis should help to improve radar-based hail detection, hail models and forecasting, and resulting warnings. ICECHIP will also promote educational efforts through training of 32 undergraduate and 20 graduate students across 10 universities.
Follow ICECHIP’s journey on their Facebook page.
