When the mercury rises in the UAE during the summer, the last things residents expect to see falling from the sky are hailstones – but they have appeared this week.
Social media users in Al Ain have posted videos of hailstones that appear to be sized somewhere between a pea and a golf ball.
The sudden flurry created an unlikely winter wonderland at the height of another sizzling summer in the UAE desert.
It came amid a spell of cloudy weather and rain that primarily affected Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
Why are we seeing hail in the summer and why are updrafts important?
Crucial to the formation of hail are updrafts of air, which keep ice particles suspended in the atmosphere and allow them to grow into hailstones before they fall to Earth.
Surprisingly, the conditions that are ideal for hailstone formation are more likely to be seen in summer in the UAE.
“With warmer temperatures, the updrafts are stronger and sustained in time,” said Dr Diana Francis, an assistant professor and head of the Environmental and Geophysical Science (Engeos) Lab at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi.
“That’s why the UAE witnesses hailstones when convective clouds occur during summer, when the temperatures are very high.
“The warm air naturally rises up, which fuels and maintains strong updrafts within the convective clouds.”
David Schultz, a professor of synoptic meteorology at the University of Manchester in the UK, said a number of factors, including a weather front or a sea breeze, could create an updraft capable of keeping ice particles in the atmosphere to form hail.
“What you need to start that updraft is usually a convergence of air coming from various locations. There are a number of ways that could happen,” he said.
The terrain could also cause an updraft, he said, with mountains able to cause the air movement required.
How do hailstones form and grow?
According to US space agency Nasa, the starting point for hailstones can be aggregated ice particles, known as graupel, or frozen raindrops.
The water exists in frozen form because temperatures 5km or 6km up in the atmosphere are below freezing, said Prof Schultz.
“Any cloud producing rain or snow at the surface of the middle or high latitudes … will start out as ice or snow,” he said.
“The conditions that form hail – you will have very strong updrafts into these clouds.”
“You can imagine that [hailstones] several centimetres across require even stronger [updrafts] in the atmosphere to keep [them] suspended in the air,” Prof Schultz said.
Dr Francis said that large hailstones were the result of several down-and-up movements of the hail that had initially formed within a cloud.
“They get tossed back up to the top of the storm by another updraft,” Dr Francis said. “Each trip above and below freezing adds another layer of ice until the hail becomes heavy enough to fall down to the surface.”
Nasa notes that each hailstone can experience both dry growth, when their surface remains dry, or wet growth, when a water-ice mesh forms. The combination creates a layered internal structure.
Why don't hailstones melt as they fall to Earth?
Eventually the hailstones become so large and heavy that the updrafts cannot keep them suspended any longer and they fall to Earth.
“Because they're falling quite rapidly, several metres per second, they can fall relatively quickly before they have time to melt,” Prof Schultz said.
He said hailstones could fall even in equatorial regions, as long as there was a strong enough updraft and they fell too fast to melt on the way down.
According to Nasa, hailstones are typically about 1cm in diameter, but some as large as 15cm in diameter have been recorded.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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Mental%20health%20support%20in%20the%20UAE
%3Cp%3E%E2%97%8F%20Estijaba%20helpline%3A%208001717%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Ministry%20of%20Health%20and%20Prevention%20hotline%3A%20045192519%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Mental%20health%20support%20line%3A%20800%204673%20(Hope)%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20at%20hope.hw.gov.ae%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.