Hailstorms

3/8/2018 (Permalink)

We all know what hail storms are, and many of us have even been caught in them at one time or another. Here we will discuss a few aspects of hail storms and exactly how they form! First, let us define hail. Hail is a type of frozen precipitation that occurs in severe thunderstorms and can develop at any time of the year.

How Hail Forms:

During the storms, currents of air move upwards and downwards. Inside these udprafts water vapor and rain are pushed high into the cumulonimbus cloud. At a certain height, the air temperature will drop below freezing and the water will condense onto dust. The supercooled water molecules condense onto the condensation nucleus and freeze producing a tiny ice particle which serves as a center of the hailstone. As this tiny ice particle falls below the freezing line due to gravity it will collide with rain drops and other ice particles and accumulates a layer of water that turns into ice making it too heavy for the updrafts to carry so it falls to the ground. In order for a storm to produce a dime sized hail the updraft speed needs to be at least 37 mph!!! For a golfball size the speed would have to be around 56 mph!!!

Damage:

The damage that will result from a hail storm will vary depending on the size of the hail. This damage will include personal injury to both humans and animals and property damage to homes and cars as well. Every year hail storms cause approximately $1 billion in property as well as crop damage. Hailstorms can also severely damage airplanes traveling through thunder storms.  Despite the extensive damage it may cause, hail storms are actually pretty rare.

Safety:

The best way to avoid injury during a hailstorm is to seek shelter in a sturdy building as soon as the warning is issued.  If you MUST be outside during a storm such as this, be sure to protect you rhead!