SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-hail-forms

How does hail grow so large?

Updrafts in thunderstorm clouds carry it up and down, adding ice each time.

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  1. Updrafts toss it up and down in a storm cloud ✔
  2. Snowflakes stick together on the ground
  3. Rain freezes as it lands on cars

Why: In a cumulonimbus storm cloud, strong updrafts lift hail again and again, and it gathers more ice. When the updraft cannot hold it up, the hail falls.

Huh, didn't know that: The stronger the updraft, the larger the hailstones that a thunderstorm can produce.

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Why did the hailstone keep going back up? It liked the elevator ride.
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References

Answer: Updrafts toss it up and down in a storm cloud. In a cumulonimbus storm cloud, strong updrafts lift hail again and again, and it gathers more ice. When the updraft cannot hold it up, the hail falls.

  1. NOAA JetStream: Thunderstorm Hazards, Hail www.noaa.gov/jetstream/hail
    The stronger the updraft, the larger the hailstones that can be produced by the thunderstorm.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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