Hail
the fall of aërial moisture in the form of ice. Hail occurs in two unlike forms, of different origin, which are now distinguished as hard, or true hail, and soft hail. The latter, often also known as sleet, denotes the fine, light rains that frequently fall in winter, rarely in summer, and seem an accompaniment of snow. True hail occurs in hard, compact, irregular masses of ice, either clear or opaque, both kinds often occurring in alternate layers in a hailstone.