Originally Posted by
Machka
Our hail here is a variation of snow. It snows at higher elevations and rains at lower elevations ... but somewhere in between, it hails. All a part of winter in Tasmania.
There was no lightening.
If I understand you correctly, that sounds more like what I would call sleet here. Hail is more of a summertime phenomenon and occurs when there is a strong updraft associated with strong summer thunderstorms, so it is most often accompanied by lightning. It is inhibited by colder weather and is unusual in winter.
Hailstones can be quite large, and while not the norm, golf ball sized stones are not that unusual. There have been reported cases of hail as large as 8" (20 cm). I haven't seen really big hail while on tour but have seen 4" diameter hail a couple times in my life.
Hail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia