After looking at various hailstone images, we are seeing that they range in size, shape and clarity. We've got new questions on how they form, so seeing various cities' data on what various conditions are like just before and after hail arrives in a location. We used Fort Scott, Kansas as a starting point, and then jig-sawed various other cities. Sharing our findings in a Building Understandings discussion, we noticed the following patterns across cities that experienced hail: |
Hail occurs when:
We also saw that hail storms seem to be relatively small in size and are similarly shaped (usually like a line). We left class thinking how all these factors that cause hail are actually working together. But our biggest concern is if the air is warm, how it is that hail forms and stays solid as it falls? Seems kinda crazy how that happens repeatedly!
Many students are suggesting it's because the air up higher is colder, and the wind plays a role. Next steps: figuring out about the air wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy up high!
- It's relatively warm outside (definitely above the freezing/melting point of water)!
- The humidity is high (53%-94%).
- The wind speed and gust change right before and after a hail storm.
- It's not winter--most hail occurs during spring, summer, and fall. Our one outlier was New Orleans, and even though they experienced hail during a winter month, it's because New Orleans' winters are pretty mild being right on the Gulf of Mexico.
- It's later in the day. We never saw a hail storm in the early morning!
We also saw that hail storms seem to be relatively small in size and are similarly shaped (usually like a line). We left class thinking how all these factors that cause hail are actually working together. But our biggest concern is if the air is warm, how it is that hail forms and stays solid as it falls? Seems kinda crazy how that happens repeatedly!
Many students are suggesting it's because the air up higher is colder, and the wind plays a role. Next steps: figuring out about the air wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy up high!