Glossary

Hail forms in a complex dance between moisture, and wind. Deep within cumulonimbus clouds ice crystals form, and begin to fall towards the Earth’s surface. As this happens, wind gusts pick up the ice crystals pushing them back up high into the clouds. As they begin to again fall down, they continue growing in size. Again, a wind gust might catch the growing hail stone pushing it back up high into the cloud. This process may be repeated several more times, until the hail stone becomes so large that it is too heavy for the wind to carry, causing it to fall towards the Earth.