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Hail often forms in strong thunderstorms, often along a cold front, where the layer of airAir is a name for the mixture of gases present in the Earth's atmosphere. Compressed air is often used in scuba diving as a shallow water breathing gas and to inflate buoyancy devices. Compressed air is also used as a source of energy for pneumatic tools. on top is much colder than that on the bottom. The smaller hailstones can bounce up and down between the warm and cold layers due to updraft s and gravityThis article covers the physics of gravitation. See also gravity (disambiguation). Gravitation is the tendency of masses to move toward each other. The first mathematical formulation of the theory of gravitation was made by Sir Isaac Newton and proved ast. The longer the stones bounce around, the larger they grow. For the same reason, larger hail can occur in warmer regionA region can also be any area, typically but not necessarily smaller than a country. Regierungsbezirk (regions of Germany) Regions of England Regions of the Philippines Regions of England Regions of Finland Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium Lis in the worldIn English, World is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words were man, and eld age; thus, its oldest meaning is "Age of Man. World can refer to the domain of discourse, but it can also mean many other things: Physical locations dymaxion map World is of due to stronger updrafts. These strong, severe, or even supercellSupercell thunderstorms are the largest, most severe class of single cell thunderstorm. They are large, rotating masses that can last for many hours. Supercells can evolve from a regular thunderstorm, or can be generated independently. Supercells usually thunderstorms can also occur in summerSummer is one of the four temperate seasons. Astronomically, it begins with the summer solstice (around 21 June in the Northern hemisphere, and 21 December in the Southern hemisphere) and ends with the autumn equinox (around 21 September in the Northern h, even without a cold front.

Hailstones, while most commonly only a few millimetreA millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter , symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. 1 mm is equal to: about 0. 03937 inches 0. 1 cm See 1 E-3 m for comparisons. The level of rainfall is also reported as millimeterss in diameter, can sometimes grow to several centimetres or occasionally even bigger. Such large hailstones can do serious damage, notably to automobiles, skylights, and glass- roofed structures. Pea or golfball-size hailstones are not uncommon in severe storms. Rarely, massive hailstones have been known cause concussions or to kill people by causing head trauma.

The first image above shows an aggregate hailstone. It is a large hailstone with smaller stones visible. The ruler shows the size of this remarkable hailstone. The diameter is approximately 6 inches or 15 cm, the size of a grapefruit. In the picture to the right, large hail collects on streets and grass during a severe thunderstorm. Larger stones appear to be nearly 2 to 3 inches (50 to 75 mm) in diameter.

The world record heaviest hailstone fell in Coffeyville, Kansas on September 3, 1970, weighing 770 g (1.7 pounds) and having a radius of 14.5 cm (5.7 inches). The largest hailstone fell in Aurora, Nebraska on June 22, 2003 with a radius of 17.8 cm (7 inches), but its mass was less than that of the Coffeyville stone, possibly because a piece broke off when it hit a house. Other, much larger, ice precipitation occur and are called megacryometeors.