Hailstone

Wow, this is the first time I saw hail stone. This morning it was snowing but then this afternoon, we are very surprised because I hear a loud noise coming outside and mike told me, look at the window its raining hail stone. I grab my camera right away and took a picture of it. Its not so clear in the camera though. Hopefully it wont break our car window. Its not that big but its just right to break the glass. Anyway what causes hail? Im curious about these and here is what I found out.

Hail consist of large ice particles that have a layered structure, and are produced by intense thunderstorms that form in a very unstable air mass, that is, one that was relatively cool dry air overlying very warm and humid air. Small ice particles that form above the freezing level in the thunderstorm collect rain water on them, forming a water shell that slowly freezes. Hail is most common in areas with warm summers where there is enough heat to cause the uplift of air. Hailstones can damage buildings and crops each year by storms of this size.