Weather Dictionary / Glossary of Terms

Hail Spike


   Weather TermDescription / Definition
   Hail Spike An area of reflectivity extending away from the radar immediately behind a thunderstorm with extremely large hail. In an area of large hail, radiation from the radar can bounce from hailstone to hailstone before being reflected back to the radar. The time delay between the backscattered radiation from the storm and the bounced and scattered radiation from the large hail causes the reflectivity from the hail to appear to come from a farther range than the actual storm.


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Data courtesy of NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration