Which form of precipitation is solid ice that forms inside thunderstorm updrafts?

• A. Sleet
• B. Snow
• C. Hail
• D. Freezing rain

Answer: (C)

Hail forms when strong thunderstorm updrafts keep raindrops moving upward through the storm, freezing them as they ride through layers of changing temperatures. As hailstones circulate in the updraft, they accumulate ice from supercooled droplets, growing with each pass and becoming solid ice that eventually falls to the ground. This specific process—ice growth inside the storm’s updrafts—is what makes hail the correct choice.

Sleet arises from ice pellets formed when falling raindrops pass through a cold layer that freezes them before they reach the ground, not from updrafts making ice inside the thunderstorm. Snow consists of ice crystals that form high in the atmosphere and usually fall as flakes, not as hail growing within updrafts. Freezing rain results from melted snow becoming supercooled and freezing on contact with surfaces, again not from growth inside thunderstorm updrafts.