Marilyn DeFoor, age 12, of Wichita, Kansas for her question:

How do hailstones form?

Most hail stones are smaller than aspirin tablets. But once in a while they are as big as golf balls. Scientists have a good idea how they are formed, though they are not sure of all the details. Hailstones form up there in a major storm cloud, where the winds blow in all direc¬tions. Masses of cool and warm air, damp air and dry air mixed and mingled together in frantic turmoil. It seems that these conditions are necessary to form hailstones.

Some of the moisture in such a storm form icy crystals and some form liquid raindrops. When the raindrops are whisked to a cooler part of the cloud they freeze, or at least gather a coat of frosty ice. The turbulent breezes whisk them up and down, around and around. The warm spots add filmy coats of liquid moisture, the cold spots add jackets of ice. As they are tossed around from place to place, the icy jackets build bigger and bigger hailstones. When they get too big and heavy to stay aloft, the icy pellets come plummeting down.