Monday, May 18, 2015

Hail

Hail
Hail is a form of weather. Hail is a type of precipitation, or water in the atmosphere. Hail is formed when drops of water freeze together in the cold upper regions of thunderstorm clouds. These chunks of ice are called hailstones. Most hailstones measure between 5 millimeters and 15 centimeters in diameter, and can be round or jagged.

Hailstones are not frozen raindrops. Frozen rain falls as water and freezes as it nears the ground. Hail actually falls as a solid. 

Hailstones are formed by layers of water attaching and freezing in a large cloud. A frozen droplet begins to fall from a cloud during a storm, but is pushed back up into the cloud by a strong updraft of wind. When the hailstone is lifted, it hits liquid water droplets. Those droplets then freeze to the hailstone, adding another layer to it. The hailstone eventually falls to Earth when it becomes too heavy to remain in the cloud, or when the updraft stops or slows down.

As of May, 15 2015 19 Hail storms have hit 6 states which include Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.