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There are four basic types of clouds. High clouds, middle clouds, low clouds, and clouds
with vertical developement. There are also clouds that don't fall into any of these
groups. Low clouds are from the surface to about 6,500 feet and are usually composed
of water droplets unless temperatures are several degrees below freezing. Clouds on
the ground are called fog. Middle clouds range from about 6,500 feet to about 20,0000
feet. They are also mostly composted of water droplets unless temperatures are cold.
High clouds are above 20,000 feet and are composed of ice crystals.
More recent studies suggest that super cooled water droplets are carried aloft by strong
updrafts in thunderstorms. A small ice particle forms and grows as "waves" of
supercooled water droplets continue to bump into the ice particle. A new coat of ice
grows with each cycle. The hailstone is kept aloft by the strong updraft. The stronger the
updraft the greater the force to keep the heavier hailstones aloft. The hailstone
eventually falls to the grown when the the weight is too great for it to remain aloft or
when it gets pushed out of the updraft. Sometimes hailstones bump into each other
while being bombarded with supercooler water droplets and stick together giving the
hailstone a spiked appearance.
The largest known hailstone fell on June 23, 2003 in Aurora, Nebraska and had a
diameter of seven inches and weighed almost one pound. The heaviest hailstone fell in
Coffeeville, Kansas on September 3, 1970 and weighed 1.7 pounds. Hail is considered
severe when the diameter reaches one inch or quarter size.
dendrites, plates, needles and other six sided shapes. It is possible for it to snow several
degrees above freezing if the air aloft is very cold and the above freezing layer is shallow near
the ground.