When you were a kid, experiencing a hailstorm was probably pretty cool. Now that you’re older and wiser, you probably prefer to steer clear of the stuff, especially the larger variety. Hail occurs when raindrops are carried into colder parts of the atmosphere during a thunderstorm and freeze. While most people are familiar with hail, here are four bizarre facts you might not know.

1. Hail Is Sometimes Plowable

Most hailstorms are brief and begin to melt quickly. However, there have been instances when a hailstorm was so heavy it had to be removed by a plow. In July of 2019, Guadalajara, Mexico was pounded by so much hail it had to be removed by bulldozers. The same occurred in Omaha, Nebraska in 2016 forcing people to shovel and plows to remove hail from parking lots.

2. Cars Experience the Brunt of Hail

Out of all the damage sustained by hail, cars experience the brunt of it. The larger hail becomes, the faster it falls. If it happens to reach golfball size, anything in its path can be destroyed, especially cars. Hail of this magnitude breaks windows and causes huge dents. If you can’t find shelter and your car is pelted by hail, you’ll need to find hail damage repair Denver CO to professionally fix the damage.

3. Hail Floats Before It Falls

When hail is first formed, it’s still too light to fall to the ground. In the meantime, it quickly floats inside the storm like a shaken snow globe. As it’s whipped around on the drafts, it continues to accumulate layers of moisture until finally, it becomes heavy enough to fall to the Earth. Although most hail is small, if the storm is a supercell with extreme winds, hail can keep circulating until it’s golf ball or softball size.

4. Hailstones Have Rings Inside

Much like trees have age rings you can count, hailstones also have visible rings if you slice them down the middle. These rings are coatings of ice that tell you how many times that hailstone cycled around the inside of the storm. Chances are if you’re looking at rings inside a hailstone, it’s very large! Most thunderstorms produce hail, but it’s so tiny it melts before it hits the ground.

A hailstorm can be intense, interesting and many times frightening. If you’re caught in a hailstorm, seek shelter immediately and rely on the professionals if your car suffers damage.