Why Was There Hail in Some Local Cotabato Barangays Recently?

Recently, several barangays in Kabacan, Cotabato reportedly experienced, err, not snow, but hail. With the kind of temperatures we see in the daily heat index reports these days, it can be unfathomable. In early March, Cotabato city had even logged the highest heat index in the country at 43 degrees Celsius, according to data from PAGASA at the time. There is, nevertheless, an interesting explanation behind the phenomenon.

A video submitted by a user named Junalyn Navidad Suminguit to ABS-CBN showed what appeared to be hailstones falling in their barangay. Incidents like these still come as a surprise, seeing as though we're in the tropics and all. But it has happened numerous times in the past. Yes, it's always news. A couple of years back, residents in some parts of Quezon City and Muntinlupa City experienced this, too. Cotabato actually has a few recorded cases over the past few years, as well.

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So how does ice exactly come from the sky in the middle of a heat wave? Well, hail is considered to be a summer phenomenon in most cases. During a storm, hail can happen, yes. Since hail rises up through the storm, it begins to have layers.

Science says that hail can form when the air is warm and moist, too. When temperatures are a little hotter (by this, we mean, way hot), then chances are, air looks to go upward in what's known as an "updraft." Each time it gets through the updraft, a new layer wraps around the stone. In times of rainfall, updrafts are robust enough, leading to water droplets stuck in the air. They end up attaining more moisture, which then leads to ice, then the fall. Science.

Nothing to be afraid of.