HAIL+(Hail+Storm)

Kyler Gardner-GRB Nate Henderson-GRB Makhali V- Volney Elementary School Wyatt W- Volney Elementary School Josie C- Volney Elementary School Jospeh B- Volney Elementary School April 13, 2011 = Ha﻿ il =

**Scientific Description **

** Hail is created when small drops of water are swept into the updraft of a thunderstorm. Hail is precipitation that falls from Cumulonibus clouds in the form of layered ice pellets. Smaller, heavier forms are called groupel. When it is cut open there are many layers. Some are cloudy and some are clear. This is a result of variations of temperature. If the layer is clear it must have taken time to freeze, if it is cloudy it froze quickly. Hail is also made when ice pellets collide with water droplets. The optimum freeze level for the formation of hail is from 8,000 to 10,000 feet. Hail can get very big and can cause a lot of damage. **

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media type="custom" key="9078996" =Noteworthy Example= Many Central Texans were still cleaning up weeks after a large hail storm that knocked out windows, smashed roofs and dented thousands of automobiles causing an estimated $160 million in insured losses. The storm swept in from western Burnet County pummeling Marble Falls with golf ball size hail. Tennis ball size hail was reported in parts of Travis and Williamson Counties. Hundreds of new cars in several automobile dealerships were heavily damaged. In all more than 22,000 vehicles were damaged in the storm and nearly 15,000 homes received insured losses, according to the insurer trade group, __. This is the second time in less than a year that parts of Austin have been pounded by a catastrophic hailstorm. On May 14, 2008, 20,000 claims came from a storm producing 65 mile per hour wind gusts and large hail. The May 14 storm caused $50 million in insured losses.



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media type="custom" key="9242814" **References **

Just Look at the Weather by John and Mary Gribbin, copyright 1985. [|http://go.grolier.com] [] Sources: Insurance Council of Texas, Southwestern Insurance Information Service []