Most hail falls somewhere between about 10 and 70 mph, but in extreme storms the very largest stones can exceed roughly 100 mph by the time they reach the ground.

How fast does hail fall?

The speed depends mainly on size : bigger hailstones fall faster because they’re heavier and punch through the air more easily.

  • Very small hail (pea-sized, under 1 cm / under 0.5 in): around 9–20 mph.
  • Small–medium hail (about 1–1.75 in, quarter to golf‑ball sized): about 25–40 mph.
  • Large hail (about 2–4 in, lime to softball sized): about 44–72 mph.
  • “Monster” hail (over 4 in across): can exceed ~100 mph in rare, intense supercell storms.

Quick size–speed table (HTML as requested)

[5][7][9][1] [3][9][1][5] [9][1][3][5] [7][1][3][5][9]
Hail description Approx. diameter Typical fall speed
Very small (pea- sized or smaller) < 1 cm / < 0.5 in ~9–20 mph
Small–medium (quarter to golf ball) ~1–1.75 in ~25–40 mph
Large (lime to softball) ~2–4 in ~44–72 mph
Very large “monster” hail > 4 in Often >100 mph in extreme cases

Why the speed changes

  • Shape: Lumpy or irregular hailstones have more drag and can fall more slowly than smooth spheres.
  • Melting: Partially melted hail can change shape and slow a bit on the way down.
  • Winds: Strong updrafts can hold hail aloft longer, while downdrafts and horizontal winds can change its path and effective speed.

In a strong supercell, hail can spend a long time looping inside the storm, growing larger each cycle, until it’s finally too heavy for the updraft and drops toward the ground at very high speed.

Bottom line: small hail falls at neighborhood‑jogging speeds, while the biggest, rare hailstones can hit more like a thrown baseball, fast enough to cause serious damage to roofs, cars, and unprotected people.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.