Did it hail in Philly Monday? Small pea-sized ice pellets fell from the sky

Did you see that light hail-like shower on Monday afternoon?

For many in and around North Philadelphia on April 20, small pea-sized ice fell from the sky that looked like it could have been part of a blizzard or thunderstorm.

NBC10 crews were out on assignment when they captured it falling on cars and flower beds.

According to the meteorologists on the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team, these small balls of ice weren’t hail but they were graupel.

What is graupel?

Graupel is soft and crumbly snow pellets that form from snowflakes.

They are formed when supercooled water droplets freeze on a snow crystal whenever temperatures drop below 32 degrees.

The process is called “rimming” and when it’s particularly intense, the snow crystal can grow to a larger size but will stay under 0.2 inches.

Graupel is very fragile and will disintegrate when in your hand.

Meanwhile, hail is hard ice pellets that fall during thunderstorms and are formed by raindrops.