Empordà Hailstorm Records Rare Intensity in Catalonia

In Empordà, Girona, a historic hail event marked a record in the past two decades. The hail stones reached diameters as large as 10 centimeters, and the incident occurred on a Tuesday, leaving a tragic toll with the death of a 20‑month‑old girl. Local observations from the Bisbal d’Empordà meteorological station in Baix Empordà confirm the unusually large hail, a magnitude of precipitation that Catalonia’s meteorological service began officially tracking in 2000. This aligns with the region’s better‑documented severe weather history as recorded by Meteocat and regional media coverage in El Periódico de Catalunya. The event stands out as the most significant hailburst since official data collection began, underscoring the rare intensity of this storm system.