![]() ![]() Let’s take a closer look at the hail formation process. Image source: The Weather Channel How Does Hail Work Additionally, when the coating of hailstones does not fully freeze, they can stick to other hailstones as a result of wet growth, causing extraordinary shapes. Such a variety of forms and shapes occurs due to the wind blowing on the hailstone that has appeared in the air. Sometimes this unusual weather phenomenon surprises with its outlines, resembling a flower or a star. More rarely, you can witness the shapes of plates, crystals, ellipses, or parallelepipeds. It happens when water instantly freezes after the collision with a hailstone. It is also possible to see air bubbles of cloudy ice inside clear ice. Sometimes you can often observe the shape of a ball when there are layers of solid ice around the snow core in the center of the hailstone. Image source: ERZ, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Horizontal winds arise either from the rotating upward flow, as in supercell thunderstorms, or from horizontal ambient winds. Additional factors are winds inside a thunderstorm cloud, which do not have only up and down cycles. This is explained by the changing conditions that surround the hailstone when it passes horizontally through or near the updraft. Hailstones have layered structures of alternating cloudy ice and clear ice. Image source: Imgur Hail Forms and ShapesĮxternal factors such as temperature, liquid water content, and wind speed impact the structure, shape, and color of hailstones. Bacteria, insects, and even small animals and fish can sometimes hide inside hailstones.On rare occasions, it can last between 30 minutes and 1 hour. Hail typically falls in 5-10 minutes because of its quick movement and short bursts of energy.The National Severe Storms Laboratory estimates that a baseball-sized hailstone (2 ¾ inches) can gain a speed of about 100 miles per hour. It is hard to define the speed hail falls from clouds.Of the entire spectrum of sunlight, hailstones most often reflect a green shade. During rain showers with hail, the sky may turn green.Here are more interesting facts about hail: Hailstones this size or bigger can incur severe damage to property and crops. The largest hailstone was about 8 inches in diameter.Īccording to the National Weather Service, large hail should be a minimum of one inch in diameter. In 2010, the US state of South Dakota experienced the biggest hailstorm on record.In 1986, pieces of ice weighing more than 2 pounds fell on the inhabitants of Bangladesh from the clouds.In 1970, the citizens of Coffeyville, Kansas saw a huge hailstone with the diameter of 17.5 inches and the weight of 1.3 pounds.In 1939, the inhabitants of India witnessed hailstones that weighed over 6 pounds.However, sometimes scientists recorded abnormally large hailstones weighing several pounds. Hail size typically ranges from 0.03 to 0.7 inches in diameter. Sizes of hail swaths can vary from several acres to an area 10 miles wide and 100 miles long. They appear as the storm moves through the hail fall. When viewed from the air, you can see hail falling in trajectories known as hail swaths. Supercells produce not only hail but also tornadoes. The updraft area is also called “mesocyclone” and has a diameter of about a mile. This is a thunderstorm with a rotating and exceptionally strong updraft that persists for a long time. You can easily recognize such clouds by their unusual shape.Ī special variant of thunderstorms often produces particularly large hail - the supercell thunderstorms. ![]() Researchers agree that hail forms as a result of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, typically with dark gray clouds. What Is Hail and What Does It Consist Of? And yet, how does hail form? What are the conditions for its formation? We will answer these questions in this article. ![]() Fortunately, hail storms occur quite rarely. This icy precipitation is also a threat to agriculture because it can destroy crops. Large hailstones are extremely dangerous and can cause bruises or even serious injuries. If it catches you by surprise right on the street, then better quickly find shelter. ![]() On a hot sunny day, we can suddenly witness such an unusual weather phenomenon as hail. ![]()
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