Britannica AI Icon

soft hail

meteorology
Also known as: graupel, snow pellet

Quick Summary

Soft hail, also known as graupel, is a type of precipitation. It consists of white, opaque, rounded or conical pellets with a diameter of up to 6 mm (0.2 inch). These pellets are formed from small cloud droplets that have frozen together, giving them a low density. Soft hail is readily crushed and is distinct from small hail (ice grains) and true hailstones, which are larger and often have layered structures of clear and opaque ice. Soft hail can be associated with thunderstorms.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.