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📘 An updraft holds water in the growth zone

You are standing beneath a thunderstorm, watching its tower climb.

4
lessons
~20 min
to learn
Adults
level
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What you’ll learn

  1. Storm setupExplain how updrafts and storm structure create a hail-growth environment.A thunderstorm’s rising air carries water and ice into cold regions where hail can begin.
  2. Ice growthDescribe embryos, supercooled water, and clear or cloudy ice layers.Hail grows when supercooled droplets freeze onto an ice embryo under changing conditions.
  3. Storm circulationRelate updrafts, downdrafts, wind, and residence time to hail size.Organized circulation can recycle embryos through productive growth zones before carrying them downward.
  4. Fall and evidenceExplain why hail falls, melts, and can be identified from stone layers and radar.Gravity and downdrafts end growth, warmer air can melt the stone, and radar plus hail layers reveal different parts of its journey.

Questions this course answers

What is the updraft's main role in hail formation?

The updraft keeps particles aloft and transports them through cold air containing supercooled liquid.

What happens when a supercooled droplet hits an ice embryo?

The droplet freezes on contact, adding a new coating whose texture depends on the freezing rate.

Why can a long-lived supercell produce large hail?

Sustained, organized circulation increases the time an embryo can collect supercooled water.

When does a hailstone begin its fall toward the ground?

A stone leaves the growth path when its weight is no longer supported or when circulation carries it downward.

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