Hail needs warm updrafts; sleet doesn't. It's likely that if it's below freezing, then it is sleet; hail otherwise.
Hail happens when a droplet freezes in the clouds, starts to fall but then is raised up into the clouds with warm updrafts, gaining more water and freezing on the way. It falls eventually when the updrafts are no longer strong enough to continue raising the hailstone again.
Sleet happens when it is above freezing in the clouds and below freezing near the ground. If it's also freezing in the clouds, that would be snow.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: [weather]
Date: 2005-05-25 04:20 pm (UTC)Hail happens when a droplet freezes in the clouds, starts to fall but then is raised up into the clouds with warm updrafts, gaining more water and freezing on the way. It falls eventually when the updrafts are no longer strong enough to continue raising the hailstone again.
Sleet happens when it is above freezing in the clouds and below freezing near the ground. If it's also freezing in the clouds, that would be snow.
Re: [weather]
Date: 2005-05-31 01:24 pm (UTC)