During some storms, rain does not reach the ground as rain at all — it lands as small, hard lumps of ice called hailstones. Inside a storm cloud, strong winds toss raindrops upward again and again, carrying them into the coldest layer of the cloud where they freeze solid. Every trip through that cold layer adds another thin coat of ice, so the longer the winds hold a hailstone up, the bigger it grows. Eventually a hailstone becomes too heavy for the wind to support, and it drops out of the cloud and falls to the ground. A hailstorm can begin without much warning, and larger hailstones can dent cars, strip leaves and crops, and crack roof tiles. Most hailstones are no bigger than a pea, but during a powerful storm some have grown as large as a baseball.