SCIENCE: Learn about hail!

How Does Hail Form?

Hail is solid ice or frozen rain that forms inside thunderstorms.

In a thunderstorm, hail forms when the updrafts or upward moving air carry raindrops into the cold areas in the atmosphere and freezes. This is because the temperature at the top of the thunderstorm clouds are very cold. The updrafts can cause the hail to rise and fall many times. So, as pieces of ice fall, they collide with water droplets and instantly freeze. Then the hailstones grow because of the additional layer of ice from the impact with the droplet.

What causes hailstones to fall to the ground?

When the hailstone becomes heavy or big enough, the thunderstorm updraft is too weak to lift them up causing them to fall. If there are strong winds, hailstones can even fall at an angle or horizontally!

Hailstones can be dangerous

There are three things that make a hailstorm dangerous, the size of the hail, the speed of the wind, and the frequency with which they fall! If the winds are extremely powerful, the hail can break windows of cars and even blow into houses. These can cause serious injury or death to any living thing. Most of the time hailstones are quite small, but be cautious of intense thunderstorms!

Fun Facts about Hailstones!

• The largest hailstone recorded in the US was the size of a volleyball!

• The largest hailstone recorded weighed 290 grams!

• Hailstones are produced in cumulonimbus clouds.

Written By: Nidhi Shine