Narrow escape from heavy hail (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
close call
'narrow escape' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'heavy hail' is the wordplay.
'heavy' becomes 'close' (I've seen this before).
'hail' becomes 'call' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'close'+'call'='CLOSE CALL'
'from' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for close call that I've seen before include "A near thing" , "One may be disputed in court" , "Lucky escape" , "Narrow decision" , "hang up" .)