© Lorem ipsum dolor sit Nulla in mollit pariatur in, est ut dolor eu eiusmod lorem 2014
Weather Glossary
Precipitation Types
Hail
Hail is solid precipitation in the form of ice. This forms when water droplets are carried upwards by strong
updraughts within Thunder clouds. The droplets freeze and then fall back down colliding with other rain
droplets. They are then carried back up within the cloud and another layer is formed. The process
continues until the Hail is too heavy too stay aloft and they then fall to the ground. If you cut open a hail
stone it will reveal an onion like structure reflecting the number of occasions the hail stone has been
carried up and down the cloud. The longer the Hail stone is carried in a cloud the bigger it will get. The
size varies from 5mm to 150mm in size. Large hailstones can also do a lot of damage.
Hail falls mainly in the warmer months of the year although it can fall in Winter if the conditions are
favourable it’s more likely to be Graupel than anything else.
Picture of a Hail stone bisected showing typical layers. Picture by www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu
Picture of a Giant Hail stone www.mailonline.co.uk
Ice Pellets
Ice pellets form when Snow flakes start to melt as they fall through the air. They then pass through a sub-
freezing layer when re-freeze into grain like particles. In some cases the Snow doesn’t completely melt
and becomes encased in ice.
Smaller than Hail they bounce when the hit the ground and can form a brief covering if the shower is
heavy enough.
© Lorem ipsum dolor sit Nulla in mollit pariatur in, est ut dolor eu eiusmod lorem 2014
Weather Glossary
Precipitation Types
Hail
Hail is solid precipitation in the form of ice. This forms when water droplets are carried upwards
by strong updraughts within Thunder clouds. The droplets freeze and then fall back down
colliding with other rain droplets. They are then carried back up within the cloud and another
layer is formed. The process continues until the Hail is too heavy too stay aloft and they then fall
to the ground. If you cut open a hail stone it will reveal an onion like structure reflecting the
number of occasions the hail stone has been carried up and down the cloud. The longer the
Hail stone is carried in a cloud the bigger it will get. The size varies from 5mm to 150mm in size.
Large hailstones can also do a lot of damage.
Hail falls mainly in the warmer months of the year although it can fall in Winter if the conditions
are favourable it’s more likely to be Graupel than anything else.
Picture of a Hail stone bisected showing typical layers. Picture by www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu
Picture of a Giant Hail stone www.mailonline.co.uk
Ice Pellets
Ice pellets form when Snow flakes start to melt as they fall through the air. They then pass
through a sub-freezing layer when re-freeze into grain like particles. In some cases the Snow
doesn’t completely melt and becomes encased in ice.
Smaller than Hail they bounce when the hit the ground and can form a brief covering if the
shower is heavy enough.
© Lorem ipsum dolor sit Nulla in mollit pariatur in, est ut
dolor eu eiusmod lorem 2014
Weather Glossary
Precipitation Types
Hail
Hail is solid precipitation in the form of ice. This forms when water
droplets are carried upwards by strong updraughts within Thunder
clouds. The droplets freeze and then fall back down colliding with
other rain droplets. They are then carried back up within the cloud
and another layer is formed. The process continues until the Hail is
too heavy too stay aloft and they then fall to the ground. If you cut
open a hail stone it will reveal an onion like structure reflecting the
number of occasions the hail stone has been carried up and down the
cloud. The longer the Hail stone is carried in a cloud the bigger it will
get. The size varies from 5mm to 150mm in size. Large hailstones can
also do a lot of damage.
Hail falls mainly in the warmer months of the year although it can fall
in Winter if the conditions are favourable it’s more likely to be Graupel
than anything else.
Picture of a Hail stone bisected showing typical layers. Picture by www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu
Picture of a Giant Hail stone www.mailonline.co.uk
Ice Pellets
Ice pellets form when Snow flakes start to melt as they fall through the
air. They then pass through a sub-freezing layer when re-freeze into
grain like particles. In some cases the Snow doesn’t completely melt and
becomes encased in ice.
Smaller than Hail they bounce when the hit the ground and can form a
brief covering if the shower is heavy enough.
