Phillip’s Weather Trivia: What does the inside of a hailstone tell us about its path to us

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Spring is primetime for scattered storms, some of which produce hail. By cutting a hailstone in half, we can examine something interesting about the inner core. Check out the question below and make your selection. The answer is farther below.

Hint: Perhaps the ice shines bright like a diamond, but diamond is not the correct answer here. See the correct answer below.

A cut tree stump will reveal its rings. Each Spring, the tree adds a new layer of growth, so by counting the rings, you know how old the tree is. When you see the inside of a hailstone, you see each new layer or ring of ice which was added when the hailstone was carried back up above the freezing line in the storm.

Raindrops are blown up into the storm where they freeze. They come back down and hit more raindrops only to be carried back up and freeze a new layer of ice on the outside. By counting the rings, you will know how many trips up and down inside the storm the hailstone made. - Phillip Williams

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