DerbyDad03 wrote:
"Snag" wrote:
This one
was so bad because it was freezing rain falling on frozen ground .
It makes me wonder , how can it be raining when the air temp is like
29* ? Why isn't it SNOW by the time it hits ?

Actually, freezing rain can't "fall" on anything.

In a nutshell...

All precipitation basically starts out as snow crystals inside of a
cloud. What happens after the crystals leave the cloud determines
what we get at ground level.

Snow:

If the crystals pass through air that stays below freezing from the
cloud to the ground, it remains as snow all the way to the ground and
we have to shovel it.

Rain:

If the crystals pass through air that is warm enough to melt it and
that warm layer extends all the way to the ground, it remains as rain
and we get wet.

Freezing Rain:

If the crystals pass through air that is warm enough to melt it, but
there is a very shallow layer of air that is below freezing close to
ground level, the rain freezes when it lands on the sub-freezing
surface of trees, cars, roads, etc. and we slide off the road, lose
power due to downed wires, etc.

Sleet:

If the crystals pass through air that is warm enough to melt it and
then pass through air that is cold enough and "deep" enough to
refreeze it, we get hit by little ice pellets that sting our faces.

Hail:

If the crystals pass through air that is warm enough to melt it and an
updraft sends the water droplets back up into the cloud, the water
freezes on the ice crystals in the cloud, forming an ice pellet. If
this "come down, get wet, go back up and freeze" cycle happens again,
the ice pellet gets a little bigger. If it happens multiple times,
and the pellets get very big, we end up with dented cars, broken
windows and headaches.


Thanks for the 'splanation !
--
Snag



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