Hailstones

Have you ever experienced that during heavy rains, some white globules also fall from the clouds? These are not snowfall since these white masses are much harder than snowflakes and unlike snowfall which occurs only at very high altitudes, these hard white solids can form in any kind of region and climate. These are called hailstones.

Hailstones are not the same as ice pellets or graupel as hailstones are much larger having a diameter ranging between 5 mm to giant hailstones having 15 cm (6 inches) diameter. In this article, we will look into what is hailstone rain, how are hailstones formed, and what is hailstones sequence.

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Hail is one of the costliest and most common forms of a natural hazard that can cause huge damage to vehicles, property, and crops. Hailstone rain can have hailstones of varying sizes but even the smallest of hailstones falling on earth can pose a serious danger to anything or anyone who gets caught in a rain with hailstones. 

• Hail is a kind of precipitation and formed when water drops freeze at higher and colder regions of thunderstorm clouds. These ice chunks are given the name of hailstones.

• Hailstones can be jagged or round in shape. They can have layers of cloudy and clear ice if the hailstones go through different liquid water content and temperatures inside the thunderclouds.

• Hailstones should not be mistaken for frozen raindrops. Frozen rains fall like water from the upper region and freeze as it reaches the ground. On the other hand, hailstones fall as solid.

How are Hailstones Formed

Hailstones are formed in a specific type of cloud called cumulonimbus clouds which are menacing-looking thunderclouds. These clouds have multi-levels and they extend high into the sky. They are also called thunderclouds and are the only types of clouds that can produce thunder, lightning, and hailstones.

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• If the wind is strong enough and the clouds are large enough, hailstones can get created.

• Clouds contain tiny droplets of water and under the right conditions, these water droplets can move up to the top of clouds by strong updraft winds.

• The top of the cloud has a relatively much lower temperature compared to the bottom of the cloud. Due to this water droplets which move to the top of the cloud freeze.

• These frozen droplets are then caught by the down-draft winds and moved back to the lower part of the cloud and lifted back again by up-draft.

• When these hailstones are lifted up, they hit liquid droplets which freeze to the hailstones and add another layer to them.

• Gradually the hailstone becomes a large lump of ice as each up-draft keeps adding more droplets. 

• The hailstone is then too heavy to remain suspended in the cloud and drops down. Hailstones can also fall when the updraft is no longer strong enough to keep carrying them to the top of the cloud.

• Hailstones usually fall down when they reach a diameter of 5 mm or higher.

• The size of the hailstones formed depends on the strength of up-draft and down-draft winds. The general weather conditions also impact the size of hailstones falling on earth.

• A strong up-draft causes thunderclouds to grow taller and the water droplets get higher up into much colder temperatures. This leads to giant hailstones.

• The largest hailstone ever recorded in history was in 2010 in Vivian, South Dakota, USA. The hailstone weighed 0.88 kg and had a diameter of 20 cms.

Hailstones in India

Some parts of the world always receive more hailstorms than others. In India, as the monsoon approaches, one can find massive thunderstorms in different parts of the country. These thunderstorms are quite often accompanied by hail and tornadoes. 

• In India, hailstorms are seen mostly in the western and northeast Himalayas.

• Hailstones fall in India mostly in the month of March and April.

• On April 30, 1888, a deadly hail storm hit Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh and killed more than 250 people, and caused 1600 livestock fatalities.

• In 2015 there were unreasonable thunderstorms and hailstones in India in March that caused the country a loss of 20,453 Crores.

Other countries that experience frequent hail storms are China and Midwestern United States. The Great Plains region in US and Canada are given the name of “Hail Alley” due to hail storms often wreaking havoc in these areas.

Damages Caused by Hailstones

Hailstorms can cause serious damage to many things like aircraft, glass-roofed structures, automobiles, skylights, etc. They also damage crops, livestock, and human beings.Hailstones in India cause massive damage to “rabi crops” in the months of March and April when the crops are ripening for harvest.

• In homes, hail storms can form a dent in aluminum siding, gutters, and shingles. They can even form cracks in vinyl siding, wood shakes, or asphalt roofs.