deadstick
Well-Known Member
We know that melting occurs-and therefore the hailstone size gets smaller- as a result of friction and as a result of passing through warm air, but exactly how hailstones are formed is still up for debate. Recently the rising-falling-rising hypothesis has come under scrutiny. That being said, of the cantaloupe-sized hailstone that fell in South Dakota a few years back, I would not have wanted to encounter it at altitude.
Size does matter.

I was wondering about the size of the stuff that these aircraft (747, 787, 320) hit at altitude. That 747 took quite a thrashing.