Hail Balls

East Indian story-tellers spin yarns of hailstones as large as elephants. Never have scientific men seen such a phenomenon, never will. Largest they record weigh little over a pound and are about the size of baseballs. Last week such ice balls bombarded the Siatista district of Greek Macedonia, pelted 22 people to death.

Not uncommon are such deaths. Two years ago at a May Day celebration in Klausenburg, Rumania, six children were killed.

Hail is a by-product of thunderstorms only. Thunderstorms are tornadoes with horizontal instead of vertical axes. Hail is caused by the up currents of the storm carrying moisture particles to an altitude where they will freeze. As they drop back toward earth the fountainhead of the wind will carry them upward again, add more snow and ice to their structure. Their size is limited only by the power of the wind to carry them upward on successive trips.

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