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Freezing rain occurs when the layer of freezing air is so thin that the raindrops do not have enough time to freeze before reaching the ground. ... Sleet is simply frozen raindrops and occurs when the layer of freezing air along the surface is thicker. This causes the raindrops to freeze before reaching the ground.
Sleet starts as snow, then falls through a layer of the atmosphere that is above freezing whereupon it melts into rain. Finally, it falls back into colder air and refreezes as ice pellets (sleet) before reaching the ground.
It melts, partially or totally. If the air remains above freezing the remainder of the way down to the ground, you'll get rain. If there is a sufficient cold layer below the layer of warm air down to the surface, it has time to refreeze into sleet. If there is a very shallow layer of sub-freezing air at the surface, rain will fall but freeze to the surface upon contact.
Snow is a delicate structure of ice crystals. Sleet is ice in small pellet form, very near the melting point and often mixed or coated with liquid water, Snow forms in a cold air (below freezing) and falls to ground in cold air. Sleet may be snow that has fallen through a warm layer of air, melted, then through a colder layer where it freezes again. It can also be rain that falls from a warm layer of air (above freezing) and passes through cold air (below freezing) on the way down, freezing into small ice pellets. Note: If the air is warm (above freezing) from the condensation level all the way to the ground, and the objects on the ground are below freezing, the fallen rain freezes onto the objects on the ground. This is called freezing rain.
Freezing rain can come from Cumulonimbus and Nimbostratus clouds, but the clouds are not responsible for the freezing rain. If the precipitation falls from the clouds as snow it must pass through a warm layer of air to melt the snow flakes into rain drops. Then the raindrops must pass through a frigid layer of air that super-cools them. Finally, the rain instantly turns to ice if it lands on a surface that has a temperature below freezing. Then you know you have freezing rain. (see Related Link below for more detail on freezing rain.)
Raindrops which pass through a layer of freezing air near the ground become sleet.
Freezing rain occurs when the layer of freezing air is so thin that the raindrops do not have enough time to freeze before reaching the ground. ... Sleet is simply frozen raindrops and occurs when the layer of freezing air along the surface is thicker. This causes the raindrops to freeze before reaching the ground.
it becomes sleet
Hail forms by small water droplets evaporating then falling through a freezing layer of rain then rising then falling back through the freezing layer. it may do this a few times before it finally falls.
Sleet starts as snow, then falls through a layer of the atmosphere that is above freezing whereupon it melts into rain. Finally, it falls back into colder air and refreezes as ice pellets (sleet) before reaching the ground.
Sleet
It melts, partially or totally. If the air remains above freezing the remainder of the way down to the ground, you'll get rain. If there is a sufficient cold layer below the layer of warm air down to the surface, it has time to refreeze into sleet. If there is a very shallow layer of sub-freezing air at the surface, rain will fall but freeze to the surface upon contact.
Freezing rain is supercooled rain that falls on below-freezing surfaces and turns into glaze ice.It starts when snow flakes melt while falling through a layer of warm air.Then these droplets pass through a layer of freezing air and their temperature falls below freezing but they remain liquid, that is, they are supercooled.When they land on a surface that has a temperature below freezing, they instantly turn into a coating of ice.These ice storms can be very dangerous, creating slippery roads, breaking tree branches, coating power lines and icing up the wings of airplanes.
Snow is a delicate structure of ice crystals. Sleet is ice in small pellet form, very near the melting point and often mixed or coated with liquid water, Snow forms in a cold air (below freezing) and falls to ground in cold air. Sleet may be snow that has fallen through a warm layer of air, melted, then through a colder layer where it freezes again. It can also be rain that falls from a warm layer of air (above freezing) and passes through cold air (below freezing) on the way down, freezing into small ice pellets. Note: If the air is warm (above freezing) from the condensation level all the way to the ground, and the objects on the ground are below freezing, the fallen rain freezes onto the objects on the ground. This is called freezing rain.
Sleet
Freezing rain can come from Cumulonimbus and Nimbostratus clouds, but the clouds are not responsible for the freezing rain. If the precipitation falls from the clouds as snow it must pass through a warm layer of air to melt the snow flakes into rain drops. Then the raindrops must pass through a frigid layer of air that super-cools them. Finally, the rain instantly turns to ice if it lands on a surface that has a temperature below freezing. Then you know you have freezing rain. (see Related Link below for more detail on freezing rain.)
Bed rock is the layer of rock through which ground water cannot flow.