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Of all the phenomena that we find in nature, both snow and hail are two of the most striking due to their ability to change the landscape in a relatively short time. However, do you know how snow and hail form? Do you know what difference one from the other? If you want to know what the difference is and what is the formation process of each of these atmospheric phenomena, keep reading Green Ecologist, because in this article we will tell you everything. Take note!
What is snow and how is it formed?
Snow is one of the most common weather phenomena, but not everyone knows how it forms. In order for snow to form, two fundamental circumstances must exist, which are the rain clouds and cold temperatures. Clouds are made up of water value and, when this vapor cools, it precipitates towards the ground in the form of liquid water or solid water under the effect of gravity.
When the temperature is high, the precipitations will be in the form of rain, while in the case that the temperatures are 0ºC or less, the water vapor will transform into small solid water crystals, which will fall in the form of snowflakes. The snowflakes will be the result that, during the descent of the snow crystals, one and the other collide with each other, which will cause many of them to come together to form larger snowflakes although, due to their low density, they are It will be a slow descent, so that the snow will never turn into ice balls.
What is hail and how is it formed?
The process through which it is formed the hail It is similar to that of snow, since it requires clouds and low temperatures but, in this case, the result will be hail, which is nothing other than fully compact ice balls that fall from the clouds to the ground by the effect of gravity, in the same way that it happens with rain or snow.
However, despite these similarities, for hail to form, it is necessary that a number of different conditions exist for snow. First, you have to take into account the type of cloud. The clouds that form snow tend to be horizontal, that is, they spread out in the sky as if they were a layer that covers the ground many kilometers high. On the contrary, for hail to form, the most common clouds that will be necessary for this phenomenon to take place will be vertical clouds, that is, they will be taller than they are wide.
Second, when these vertical clouds are joined by rising winds, conditions are created for hail to occur. When this happens, the water particles in the cloud crystallize and tend to fall under the effect of gravity just like snow. However, due to the ascending winds and the fact that the cloud has more water in its upper part, given its vertical shape, these ice crystals rise back to the cloud after having started their descent, which makes combine with liquid water and steam, increasing their density and giving rise to small balls of ice.
This phenomenon of descent and ascent of the ice It can occur for several times until, finally, the weight of the ice balls is too much, even for the upward winds to handle them, causing them to fall to the ground by gravity, thus resulting in to hail.
The impact of the effects of snow and hail
Another of the differences between snow and hail They are the effects they have on crops and in any area in which it falls in general. It must be taken into account that snow, due to its density, falls slowly although it can be very abundant. This makes the snow does not cause great damage in the area it affects. In addition, because snow accumulates in areas with low temperatures, such as mountain peaks, they constitute a fresh water reserve that will be released slowly with the thaw in spring, serving as a water supply for rivers and aquifers during the hottest months.
Conversely, hail has very negative effects, especially the bigger it is. Because hail is made up of very dense chunks of ice, they fall to the ground with great force, causing material damage both in cities and in natural environments. In fact, in the case of crops, the impact of hail is very damaging, since it can destroy crops in a very short period of time and, also, unlike snow, it is not a water that can be useful for irrigation, so it has many drawbacks and no advantages for the agricultural sector.
If you want to read more articles similar to How snow and hail form, we recommend that you enter our category of meteorological phenomena.
