hail; hailstones
Refers to hailstones, especially those 5 mm or larger. Compare with 霰 (あられ) for smaller ice pellets.
See also: あられ
昨日、雹が降って車に傷がついた。
Yesterday it hailed and my car got dents.
ゴルフボール大の雹が降ることもある。
Sometimes golf-ball-sized hail falls.
Standard kanji spelling for hail.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.
The kanji 雹 is a phono-semantic compound: 雨 (rain) + 包 (wrap), suggesting ice wrapped in rain. The reading ひょう is the on'yomi.