Hail is a product of the updrafts and downdrafts that develop inside storm clouds (cumulonimbus), where supercooled water droplets exist. Water droplets change into frozen pellets when temperatures drop below freezing, as the updraft and downdrafts continue the larger the hail can get before released from the cloud. There are several stages a hailstone can go through depending how long it is in the cloud, first stage is graupel which is very small hail and has a snowflake like structure. The next stage is small hail which is the same size as graupel but has more of a frozen state and is no bigger than 1/5 inch in diameter. The final stage is hailstones, they have layers of ice and are greater than 1/5 inch in diameter; they can be as small as a pea or as large as a grapefruit.
Hail can be the most damaging parts of a thunderstorm, inflicting injury on others, destroying crops & properties. So when in a hailstorm take cover indoors and protect yourself.
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