Rain and snow mixed (American English) or sleet (Commonwealth English) is precipitation composed of a mixture of rain and partially melted snow. Unlike ice pellets , which are hard, and freezing rain , which is fluid until striking an object where it fully freezes, this precipitation is soft and translucent , but it contains some traces of ice ...

Sleet occurs when snowflakes only partially melt when they fall through a shallow layer of warm air. These slushy drops refreeze as they next fall through a deep layer of freezing air above the surface, and eventually reach the ground as frozen rain drops that bounce on impact.

Sleet / Ice Pellets (PE, PL, IP, SLT): Sleet (Ice Pellets) are frozen raindrops that strike the earth's surface. In a sleet situation the precipitation aloft when it is first generated will be snow. The snow falls through a layer that is a little above freezing and the snow partially melts.

Jan 31, 2024 · Like sleet, freezing rain usually starts as snowflakes, and then falls through a warm layer in the atmosphere where it turns into rain. It refreezes when it touches surfaces that are below freezing temperatures.

Freezing rain begins as snow, but when it reaches the warm pocket, it melts and becomes rain. Before hitting the ground, it passes through a very shallow pocket of cold air, which cools it some but not enough to turn it into sleet.

Dec 2, 2023 · Sleet occurs when snowflakes only partially melt when they fall through a shallow layer of warm air. These slushy drops refreeze as they next fall through a deep layer of freezing air above the...

Jan 3, 2025 · Freezing rain happens when snowflakes go through a warm layer of air and melt completely. These waterdrops then go through a thin layer of freezing air just above the surface but don’t have...

Jan 8, 2025 · Unlike a straightforward snowfall or rain event, a wintry mix is a combination of different types of frozen and freezing precipitation, making for a messy and sometimes dangerous situation on...

Nov 21, 2022 · Freezing rain occurs when the snow melts but doesn’t freeze before hitting Earth’s surface. It then freezes if the surface temperature is at or below freezing. Freezing rain events can last for many hours and cause widespread damage.

Dec 16, 2022 · Freezing rain occurs when snowflakes fall into a warmer layer of air and melt into rain. Sleet happens when snowflakes only partly melt when they enter a warm layer of air as they fall through...