Understanding the Difference Between Hail and Sleet

Hailstones are small balls of ice that form in thunderstorms and fall to the ground. They are created when updrafts in the storm carry water droplets up into the freezing level of the atmosphere, where they freeze into small balls of ice. As the hailstones fall through the storm, they may pass through additional layers of freezing air, causing them to grow larger and more irregular in shape. Hailstones can range in size from very small pea-sized stones to large rocks that can cause significant damage to property and injure people.

Question 2. What is the difference between hail and sleet ?
Ans. Hail and sleet are both forms of frozen precipitation that occur in thunderstorms, but they differ in their formation and characteristics.

Hail forms when updrafts in the storm carry water droplets up into the freezing level of the atmosphere, where they freeze into small balls of ice. As the hailstones fall through the storm, they may pass through additional layers of freezing air, causing them to grow larger and more irregular in shape.

Sleet, on the other hand, forms when supercooled water droplets in the storm cloud freeze into small, translucent ice pellets. Sleet is typically smaller than hail and has a more rounded shape. Unlike hail, sleet does not grow larger as it falls through the storm, but instead remains small and uniform in size.

In summary, hail forms from frozen water droplets carried up into the freezing level of the atmosphere, while sleet forms from supercooled water droplets that freeze into small ice pellets within the cloud. Hail can grow larger as it falls, while sleet remains small and uniform in size.