Top 5 weather wonders explained - Page 6 of 8

Giant hailstones

Put simply, giant hailstones come from giant storms – specifically a thunderstorm called a supercell. It has a strong updraft that forces wind upwards into the clouds, which keeps ice particles suspended for a long period.

Within the storm are areas called growth regions; raindrops spending a long time in these are able to grow into much bigger hailstones than normal.