MYSTERY OF THE MYSTERY OF THE SKIESSKIES

Megacryometeors are large chunks of ice that fall randomly from a

clear sky.

Megacryometeors share many features similar to huge hailstones.

Hail forms inside the cumulonimbus clouds of a thunderstorm, where super-cooled water droplets freeze around condensation nuclei such as dust particles or ice crystals. Strong updrafts repeatedly drive the hailstones up through the clouds, and ice collects around them like the layers of an onion.

The main difference is that megacryometeors are formed under unusual atmospheric conditions, such as clear skies.

The size of these ice meteors ranges from 1kilogram to over 400 kilograms.

At present, there is no satisfactory explanation as to how these unusually large ice blocks can be formed and maintained in the atmosphere without melting before impact.

There are several theories surrounding their formation which range from cosmic to terrestrial.

This hypothesis stood until testing was done to determine if the water molecules in the ice meteors were the same as our planet, which they were.

This theory proposes that great masses of water could be transported up in the atmosphere by tornadoes, then frozen and converted to ice chunks.

Another explanation is that relegation occurs. This is a process of the melting and re-fusing of many hailstones on the ground so that a single ice mass forms.

This theory does not explain ice meteors falling on a clear sky, however.

Some theorize that these ice stones are the result of aircraft icing or related aircraft equipment, such as leakage from onboard toilets.

A study done by Jesus Martinez-Frias, a leading scientist in the study of this phenomenon, found that during the period in which megacryometeors fell to earth in Spain, on January 17, 2000, there was a sudden drop in the tropopause.

Along with this occurrence, there was an increase in humidity and wind shear.

There have been sightings of this phenomenon all over the world.

These ice meteors have landed in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Columbia, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Documented historical references about megacryometeors go back to the first half of the 19th century.

In 1953 a used car lot in Long Beach, California was hit by a megacryometeor. The owner just finished polishing a car when it was hit by a chunk of ice that was the "size of a man". During this time fifty chunks of ice were found and some were reported to be 150 pounds.

July 27, 2007, a clear sunny day in Dubuque, Iowa. Several megacryometeors fell from the sky, one weighing 50 pounds! 

October 8, 2008 Perry and Mary Ann Foster were laying in bed, about to go to sleep in their home in York Township, PA. A six pound megacryometeor split into three when it hit Foster's house, one hitting Marry Ann in the forehead. Fortunately she survived.

May 22, 2009. Chris Drab was mowing his lawn in Delta, BC. He was hearing strange whooshing sounds and he looked up to see ice falling from the clear sky. Five large megacryometeors hit the ground near him.

Cerveny, Randy, Charles Knight, and Nancy Knight. "Strange Tales of HAIL." Weatherwise 58.3 (2005): 28-34. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2011

“Megacryometeor Hit Dubuque, Iowa Today.” Megacryometeors. 27 Jul. 2007. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.

Martinez-Frias, Jesus. “Megacryometeors: Distribution on Earth and Current Research.” Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 35.6 (2006): 314-316. Print.

Russell, Ben. “Ice Crashes Through Home.” Hals. Hals2.Wordpress, 10 Oct. 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.

“Megacryometeors Fall in Delta, B.C.” The Ice Cubicle. 1 Jun. (2009). Meg Walker. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.