A hailstorm is a convective meteorological phenomenon characterized by the precipitation of solid ice particles (hailstones) formed within strong cumulonimbus clouds. Hailstones develop when supercooled water droplets accrete on ice nuclei within updraft regions, undergoing repeated cycles of ascent and descent that generate concentric layering and growth. Hailstorms are typically associated with intense updraft velocities, strong vertical wind shear, and atmospheric instability, often occurring in severe thunderstorms and supercells. They play a significant role in atmospheric energetics, microphysical processes, and cloud electrification, and are a major focus of research due to their capacity to cause substantial agricultural, infrastructural, and aviation damage.
Everyone has a storm story—whether it's that time you just escaped a downpour, or the hailstorm that wrote off your car. Even though hailstorms are relatively rare, they cause significant damage. Two new studies shed light ...
Environment
Jun 3, 2026
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A hailstorm can undo a season's work in minutes. It can strike quickly and unevenly, shredding wheat, bruising fruit, flattening crops—while also leaving neighboring paddocks untouched. In a new Nature Climate Change study, ...
Environment
Jun 3, 2026
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Hailstorms can be incredibly dangerous, posing risks to life and property. Then there's the economic damage to cars, crops, and infrastructure caused by large balls of ice falling at high speed from the sky. And the problems ...
A research team led by Professor Zhang Qinghong and Li Rumeng from the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Peking University (PKU) School of Physics, has found that hailstorms in China have surged since the ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 4, 2025
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Warming may lead to less frequent but bigger and more devastating hail storms, new research has shown.
Earth Sciences
Sep 26, 2025
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Supercell thunderstorms are among the most impactful weather events in Europe. They typically occur in summer and are characterized by a rotating updraft of warm, humid air that brings strong winds, large hail and heavy rain. ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 27, 2025
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New research from UNSW shows climate change could cause hailstorms to get worse in some of Australia's most densely populated cities.
Earth Sciences
Jul 29, 2025
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Wind roared against the SUV's windows as its tires sloshed through water dumped onto the road by the downpour. A horizon-wide funnel cloud loomed out the window, several miles away. Then came the loud metallic pings on the ...
Environment
Jun 12, 2025
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On Jan. 5, 2025, at about 2:35 in the afternoon, the first severe hailstorm of the season dropped quarter-size hail in Chatham, Mississippi. According to the federal storm events database, there were no injuries, but it caused ...
Environment
Jun 4, 2025
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An unseasonal rainstorm battered the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Saturday, flooding roads and damaging seafront businesses in the latest bout of erratic weather to hit the region.
Environment
Jun 1, 2025
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