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Hail
A Farmer's Worst Nightmare
Hail is, simply put, ice that falls from thunderstorms. It is a result of updrafts inside of a thunderstorm carrying water droplets up above the freezing layer. The now ice particles sink back towards earth and collect more water droplets. The stone is once again carried back upwards where the water droplets freeze to the ice particle and form a bigger piece of ice. The process repeats itself until the hailstone is too heavy for the updraft, in which case the stone falls to earth. Hail can range from 1/4 of an inch to over 7 inches in diameter. It can be very lethal and can destroy agricultural products, roofs, and nay other item left outside.
April 18, 2006 Grand Forks, ND: I was out taking photographs of an approaching system when suddenly I was barraged by hailstones up to 1/2 of an inch in width. I got to a sheltered area and took a few photos of the hailstones and the damage they did to the budding trees.
All Photos and Videos are Copyright © 1997-2007 Kevin Skow
