The Wacky Weather Phenomenon of

HAIL AND SLEETKatherine Cook

Mrs. Shott

Period 8

What is Hail?

• Hail is a damaging form of precipitation that is similar to a small chunk or ball of solid, hard ice.

Is sleet the same as hail?

• No, sleet is winter precipitation in the form of small pellets of ice.

• It can make a thin sheet of ice on anything.

How does hail start?

• Hail starts as tiny pellets that collide with water droplets that get thrown up and down in the cloud until they are heavy enough to fall.

= ice pellets

Features of hail

• Hail has many layers form being thrown up and down in the cloud.

• Hailstones can be as big as baseballs.

How does sleet occur?

• It starts when snowflakes that melt into raindrops when passing through warmer air.

• Then they refreeze into ice particles.

WARM AIR

COLD AIR

REFREEZE

Where does hail and sleet occur?

• Hail and sleet occur most everywhere, however some places get more severe storms than others.

= severe hail

= severe sleet

What can hail do to humans?

• If hailstones are large enough, they can knock humans unconscious or even kill them.

What to do if Hail Occurs

• Go inside your house or a covered shelter.

• Avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary.

• Listen to a local radio or TV station to see when it is safe to come out of cover.

• Stay off of phones and other appliances during a hail storm.

Can hail effect businesses?

• YES! Hail has been responsible for billions of dollars worth of crop damage and livestock deaths

How can hail affect us?

• Can cause more than $500 million in damage annually.

• A hailstorm in Prescott Arizona last year destroyed all the cars and trucks at one of the car distributorships

Wacky facts

• When hailstones rise and fall, they hit each other, make electric charges, and lightning occurs.

• Hail falls in the Nandi Hills of Kenya, Africa about 132 days a year!

Other Cool Facts

• The largest hailstone ever fell on Coffeyville, Kansas in 1970. It measured 17.5 inches in circumference and weighed 1.67 pounds.

The End

Thank you for watching my presentation. I hope you learned something about hail and sleet!!!