One Saturday Maria and I had a 30-mile bike ride. It seemed perfect. We started at 7:00 a.m. in beautiful spring weather. At 10:30 a.m., when we stopped for a rest, we both felt wonderful. And then a brisk wind came. That was when our perfect day began to change.

By noon, we knew a serious thunderstorm was blowing our way. Dark clouds rolled up our of the southwest. A stinging wind burned our faces. There was no way to stay out of the storm. We would have to wait it out, but where?

Then things went from bad to worse. The temperature dropped suddenly. I looked up and saw the sky now turned dark green. Trees and crops were bent over by the wind. No animals were in sight.

Then a blue car stopped beside our bikes. The driver shouted, “Get in!” She looked frightened, and so did we. We did as she said. That was when the hail（冰雹）started. Ice, the size of golf balls, hit the windows of the car.

She drove fast to the north. Maria and I looked back at the black sky. Maria screamed, “Tornado（龙卷风）!” It was so close that I could see trees, doors, and all kinds of other things that this monster swallowed（吞）.

My heart moved up to my throat and was beating so hard, I thought it would jump out of my body. I had never been so frightened. We would never run faster than the tornado! The driver turned to us and said calmly, “There’s an overpass（立交桥）ahead. We’ll stay under it for protection.”

When we parked, we jumped out of the car and ran to the wall of the overpass. Before I could count to 20, there came a loud noise. It sounded like a train passing overhead. Then, suddenly, it was over. We had made it.

Soon we were all laughing with relief（轻松）. We were shaken but excited. What a story I would have to tell at school.

It happens in summer, lasts about 2 to 10 minutes and has small balls of ice that fall like rain. What could it be? It is hail (冰雹), also called hailstone or hailstorms.

Hailstorms often visit the United States. The area like Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming would experience seven to nine hail days every year. The place with the most hail in the world is Kenya. It hails about 130 out of 365 days a year.

It’s hard to tell exactly when a hailstorm might come. They can cause lots of damage (破坏) to people, buildings, cars, plants and animals. In fact, hailstorms can even cause deaths. So we should know how to stay safe during it.

The best way to protect yourself from a hailstorm is to be prepared. We all should have our tools prepared all year round, and those tools should include helmets (头盔). They can help you save your head from both the hail itself and other things brought by heavy storms. Make sure you stay inside until the hail stops and stay away from windows. If possible, find a room at least one level down from the top of the house. If you get caught outside in a hail-storm, try your best to run into a house. If you can’t find a house to stay in, find something to protect your head. Remember that stay out of low land areas, because they could be filled with water. Avoid trees because they are also dangerous.