Pat Shingleton for Sept. 4, 2012

We’re familiar with hailstones in south Louisiana, but the weather story was “real” stones on this date in 1886. The Charleston News and
Courier’s editor first reported a showering of stones at 2:30 a.m. Sept. 4, 1886. Five hours later, another round of stone showers hit the South Carolina capital. Six hours later, another rock shower occurred and city officials were unable to determine the stone storm’s origin. Believing gusty winds may have jolted the building where the newspaper was located, the editor, upon a further investigation, found many residents were experiencing the falling stones in an area about 75 square feet. The size of the stones ranged from grape- to egg-size, resembling “polished pebbles of flint.” A similar incident was reported in Harrisonville, Ohio, in 1901.

Fastcast: Hot but dry.