When the hailstone becomes so heavy that the updraft can no longer support it, it falls from the sky. Hail falls along paths scientists call hail swaths. Swaths can leave hail piled so deep it has to be removed with a snow plow. Hail also does a great deal of damage to crops. U.S. costs run into hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Farmers cope with the hail hazard by purchasing insurance.
Parts of this region average between seven and nine hail days a year. Corn crop damage caused by hail. Today, farmers seek monetary compensation for hail damage, but in the past, farmers had no recourse when their crops were destroyed. They were left to their own ingenuity to try to suppress hail. In the 14th century, people in Europe attempted to ward off hail by ringing church bells and firing cannons.