Vaisala’s Xweather is Transforming Hail Forecasting Through Lightning Intelligence

Vaisala Xweather is combining traditional radar observations with its proprietary lightning data to provide more precise hail alerts up to 60 minutes in advance, and provides updates every two minutes. Vaisala, a global leader in measurement instruments and intelligence for climate action, just announced the launch of its advanced hail forecast alerts within its Xweather Protect severe weather monitoring platform.

Vaisala’s new Xweather Protect alert API integration will enable solar farm operators to automate the process of moving solar panels to protective stow positions when hail is imminent, providing critical asset protection measures that can prevent catastrophic damage to solar installations. According to a recent review, new renewable energy installations hit record levels in 2024 with around 700 GW of total renewable capacity added, with nearly 80% of it being solar PV. A recent analysis revealed that hail damage accounts for 55% of all extreme weather-related solar facility claim costs in the U.S. and Canada, with the average claim reaching $58 million. Modeling shows that stowing panels at 75 degrees during severe hail events reduces the probability of breakage from 100% to an almost negligible level.

The microphysics involved in hail formation are very complex – short-lived, chaotic, and notoriously hard to observe, which is why traditional numerical weather models and even new AI models struggle to make precise predictions. Vaisala Xweather looks to address this challenge by using the fundamental meteorological principle that hail always forms in thunderstorms: where there is hail, there is lightning. Vaisala’s global lightning detection capabilities can observe spikes in lightning, which can serve as an early indicator of intensifying updrafts that drive hail formation.