Hailstorms

1
Hailstorms

• Takumi Murayama
• Science 8E Garrity

http//www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/images/big/nssl0
003.jpg
2
What we will talk about

• What hail is, and how it is made
• The different shapes of hailstones
• The size of hailstones
• Damage caused by hail
• Deaths associated with hail
• Different objects in hail

3
What is Hail, and how is it made?

• Precipitation
• Begins in one area of thundercloud
• Moves to humid area
• Accumulates water grows as it freezes
• Finally falls when it is too heavy

4
What shape can a hailstone be?

• In thundercloud cone, pyramid
• Tumble from cloud to make oblate spheroid
• When unfrozen water remains on the stone, freezes
  into icicle-like formations
• Can be cubical or starfish, dagger, or
  doughnut-shaped

5
How large can a hailstone be?

• Small Pea
• Large Grapefruit
• Particularly large ones
• 2.25 lbs. (April 1984 in India)

http//www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/images/big/nssl0
001.jpg
6
What can hail do?

• Break windows
• Damage roofs
• Dent cars, aeroplanes
• Destroy crops
• More damage with stronger wind

http//www.photolib.noaa.gov/historic/nws/images/b
ig/wea02253.jpg
7
But can it kill people and animals?

• U.S. 1930, 1979, 1 death each
• More deaths
• 22 in 1930 (Greece)
• 246 (1,600 animals) in 1888 (India)
• 2 (2,478 animals) in 1867 (India)

8
Can there be something INSIDE the hailstones?

• Usually a soft piece of ice, graupel
• Wheat (1686 England)
• Worms and beetles (1713 Hungary)
• Live frogs (Iowa 1882)
• Alabaster pieces and turtles (Mississippi 1894)
• Fish (1896 Germany)

9
What we talked about

• Hail is the precipitation of ice made in
  thunderclouds
• Hail can be of any shape from a cube to
  starfish-shaped
• Hailstones can be as small as a pea or as large
  as a grapefruit
• Hailstones can damage buildings and crops
  severely, and can kill or injure people
• Hailstones can contain anything from wheat to
  worms

10
Bibliography

• Long, Alexis B. Hail. World Book Online
  Reference Center. 2005. World Book, Inc. 28 Sept.
  2005 lthttp//www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id
  ar242260gt.
• Hail. The Columbia Encyclopedia. Edition 6,
  2000. p16666.
• Cerveny, Randy Knight, Charles and Knight,
  Nancy. Strange Tales of HAIL. Weatherwise. 58.3
  (05-01-2005) p28. Online. Available
  http//elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/elib/do/docume
  nt?setsearchgroupid1requestidlib_standardres
  ultid4editionts9AE80F7F83ECF1F4A7E834C9066F04
  BD_1127951188892urnurn3Abigchalk3AUS3BBCLib3
  Bdocument3B108668715. 28 September 2005.
• National Weather Service. JetStream - An Online
  Weather School Thunderstorm Hazards - Hail.
  Online. Available http//www.srh.weather.gov/srh/
  jetstream/mesoscale/hail.htm. 28 September 2005