Is that a hailstone actually
embedded in the dent in the crunched radome? I can't think of any part of the radar kit that normally looks like a rock.
They do (very rarely) get that big in our Great Plains supercells. Largest actually documented (so far) was about 8"/200mm, even after some melting before recovery.
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Monitoring & Understanding Our Changing Planet
As someone who lives in Denver, I can attest that it is quite common in this area to get hail well outside the anvil of one of these beasts - even to the extent that the hail "curtains" are lit up by the westering sun and produce "hailbows."
http://myzone.saferetirementst.netdn...302.jpg?135282
Now, that's at ground level - I have no idea what the updrafts can spit out, and how far, at cruise level.
Just flew into Denver today (as pax) and we were dodging supercells that towered above us even at FL360.
As to the
apparent disparity in damage - well, glass is glass, and I'm betting most of the paint removal on the radome was simply the thin aerodynamic shell flexing under the impacts and popping the paint loose.