A powerful thunderstorm moved through New York City on Tuesday night. Generating strong winds and heavy rain across area, it also brought hail to Staten Island, one of the city’s outer boroughs.

According to reports, hailstones measuring 1.8 inches in diameter came down in the Bull’s Head neighborhood. Roughly the size of golf balls, it was the largest hail reported in the city since 2011.

The storm was strong enough to warrant a tornado warning for the area, but luckily no twisters touched down in the five boroughs. Nonetheless, the large hail is a testament to the storm’s intensity. Simply put, the stronger the updraft of a storm, the longer hailstones remain suspended, allowing them to grow larger.

The largest hailstone ever recorded in the US was found in Vivian, South Dakota on June 23, 2010. It measured 7.9 inches in diameter and weighed 1.94 pounds.

Large hail fell from an intense thunderstorm over Staten Island, NYC on May 28, 2019. Image Credit: Staten Island Advance/ J Yates