Can somebody please explain the differences between freezing rain, sleet, and hail?

Answer 1

freezing rain comes down as liquid and then turnd to ice on contact. it is a differance in a few degrees of temprature between the earthand the clouds that causes it to be liquid as it comes down.

sleet is the next step up and it is tiny particles of ice comming down. they are often luquid in the center and they break and re-freeze.

both of these make for a very slick driving or walking surface.

hail requires a very differant weather condition. and usually requires high winds operating in a circular motion. basically a piece of dust collects water and is blown into the atmosphere. it freexes and falls into the cloude. collects water is circulated back up and freezes again it does this untill it is too heavy for the wind to re-circulate it and then it falls to earth. sometimes causing major damage.

Answer 2

Hail, falls mainly in the summer time. It falls from thunderstorm clouds that extend high into extremely cold air. Updrafts bring raindrops from the bottom the top of the cloud where they freeze into ice pellets. They then fall only to be blown back up where any coating of rain freezes and the hail stone grows layer by layer for each time the up-down cycle occurs. They continue this cycle until they become heavy enought that they finaly overcome the updrafts and fall to the ground.

Sleet falls in the winter time. When the air temperature is below freezing near the ground and above freezing up in the clouds the rain forms up where it's warm and falls into the cold air. It freezes into little pieces, that is what we call sleet, on the way down.

Freezing rain is almost like sleet except it freezes after it hits the ground forming a layer of ice. So hail falls from summer thunderstorms and each stone can be as big as a pea, a quarter, or a grapefruit, sleet and freezing rain fall in the winter, sleet being ice pellets and freezing rain being rain that freezes whe it hits the ground.
Hopefully i was some help to you!!

Answer 3

Freezing rain freezes after it has fallen, sleet is rain that freezes in drop form on the way down. Hail is a ball of ice that gets circulated around in the cloub and builds layers of ice, usually associated with the strong winds needed to produce it

Answer 4

Freezing rain is liquid but freezes on contact with below freezing objects(trees,roads,cars,wires etc.)
Sleet is snow that passes through above freezing air on the way down,then re-freezes before hitting the ground.
hail is rain that freezes and builds into large balls in the clouds then falls to earth during the summer time.

Answer 5

I think! fzrain is when the ground is colder than the air and the rain freezes on contact.
sleet is when the air is colder than the ground and freezes into ice pebbles or rain/snow mix.
hail forms in thunderstorms after rain has been lifted upwards pass the frz level and it takes several trips up and down before it is to heavy for the uplift

Answer 6

sleet is a mix of ice and rain, it can be very slight and soft. Hail is frozen rain (ice) that comes down at a fast pace and comes during bad thunderstorms, freezing rain is not as hard as hail, and not as soft as sleet.

Answer 7

The definitions are from the American Meteorological Society.

ice pellets (sleet)—A type of precipitation consisting of transparent or translucent pellets of ice, 5 mm or less in diameter.

hail—Precipitation in the form of balls or irregular lumps of ice, always produced by convective clouds, nearly always cumulonimbus.

freezing rain—Rain that falls in liquid form but freezes upon impact to form a coating of glaze upon the ground and on exposed objects.

Answer 8

freezing rain is 2 words as sleet and hail are only one word. sleet has one more letter in it the hail. Your hail has a quesiton mark after it, where your freezing rain and sleet have a comma after them.

Answer 9

Freezing rain is rain that immediately forms ice. Sleet is snow that is melting before it hits the ground (ie it contains water). Hail is falling beads of ice (ie frozen rain drops)

Answer 10

I live in Cleveland, so I do not know what you are talking about.