On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 17:52:01 -0500, Peter Kemp
peter_n_kempathotmaildotcom@ wrote:

On or about Mon, 19 Jan 2004 09:28:37 +0000, Alan Lothian
allegedly uttered:

In article , Keith Willshaw
wrote:

Hmmm, I suspect when dealing with a kg of water it makes a
big difference to the fan blades if that water is frozen
in a single lump.

Indeed. Strange to relate, more windscreens are smashed by hailstones
than by raindrops.

Hailstones can get rather larger than raindrops. In the various
updrafts within stormclouds the raindrops grow until they reach a size
at which they're too unstable in the airflows and fission into smaller
drops, hail just keeps growing until the updrafts can't keep them up.

I've never been hurt by rainfall, but one short shower of 1" hail left
me very battered, slightly dazed, and in need of a large drink and a
quiet lie down.

Indeed. We had a hailstorm here (near Dallas, TX) last summer that
was so loud I couldn't hear the baseball game on TV. When it stopped,
I went outside & picked up some 2-1/2" dia. hailstones off my lawn! I
can't imagine getting hit by one!

JM