Climate of Minnesota bring significant amounts of precipitation with them. Winter precipitation comes in a few different forms. Snow is the main form of precipitation, but freezing rain, ice, sleet and sometimes even rain are all possible during the winter months. Larger storm systems, often Panhandle hooks or other storms that occur with a meridional flow, can bring large amounts of snow and even blizzard conditions. Alberta clippers are fast-moving areas of low pressure that move through Minnesota during the winter months. Clippers get their name from Alberta, Canada, the province from which they begin their southward track. (Other variations of the same
Hail with air, wind, and interaction with rain and other hailstones can slow their descent through Earth's atmosphere. Severe weather warnings are issued for hail when the stones reach a damaging size, as it can cause serious damage to human-made structures and, most commonly, farmers' crops. Any thunderstorm which produces hail that reaches the ground is known as a hailstorm. Hail has a diameter of or more. Hailstones can grow to and weigh more than . Unlike ice pellets, hailstones are layered and can be irregular and clumped together. Hail is composed of transparent ice or alternating layers of transparent and