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How does hail, sleet and snow form?
Question Date: 2007-03-26
Answer 1:

Water vapor condenses into ice crystals at high altitude where it is cold, and when the crystals become large enough, the wind can no longer keep them aloft and they fall. Hail consists of droplets of liquid water forming at low altitude and then being brought to high altitude and freezing by thunderstorm updrafts. They then fall, only to be caught in another updraft, and repeating this process they add layer upon layer of ice until they finally fall to the ground.



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