sleet or freezing rain
By ladybug565
@ladybug565 (2216)
United States
January 10, 2009 9:54pm CST
what's the difference?
Sleet: Generally transparent, globular, and solid grains of ice that have formed from the freezing of raindrops or the refreezing of largely melted snowflakes when falling through a below-freezing layer of air near the earth's surface.
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.
While it can certainly result in slippery driving conditions, sleet is...in general...far less serious than freezing rain. Freezing rain can result in a thin but extremely treacherous layer of ice on streets and sidewalks...and if substantial enough it can even result in damage to trees and power lines.
4 responses
@ladybug565 (2216)
• United States
11 Jan 09
yes mee too! we got about 8 inches yesterday. but I am not looking forward to the cold front comming in this week, 10 degrees. yuck!!@!!
1 person likes this
@ladybug565 (2216)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I live in NY. we are supposed to get the same.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63252)
• United States
11 Jan 09
yeah, give me sleet any day...
unfortunately, around here, even sleet tends to melt then refreeze so unless we've had a bunch of really cold days, it is still bad.
Gotta say, if I've got to go out in one, I'd rather stand outside and be pelted by the sleet, it kind of bouces off!
@ladybug565 (2216)
• United States
11 Jan 09
lol. yea. I dont have a car so I dont have to try to drive in any of it.
@ladybug565 (2216)
• United States
11 Jan 09
lol. yw. yes I prefer the snow too. actually I prefer spring lol.
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
22 Dec 09
We got 33 inches of snow on Saturday but I'd rather see more of that than what we are supposed to get on Christmas day: freezing rain!
I'm already sick of winter and winter JUST began! (I believe that's today, right?)
I think I'd prefer sleet over freezing rain. With freezing rain, not only is the lower air frozen, the ground is also frozen. That stuff is there to stay for awhile. Sleet sometimes melts not long after landing. At the very least, you can push it aside with a shovel. Freezing rain is there to stay for awhile.
Maybe it's a good thing we have to postpone our Christmas celebration this Friday for the following weekend because I'm so sore from shoveling all that snow that I doubt I'd be ready for 10 people this Friday!
