this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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It's been raining and below freezing for the last 18 hours or so. It's supposed to stay this way for another day too.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I've never heard it called "ice rain" before. Only "freezing rain". Are you and OP making this up?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

It's just words mashed together, is one correct and the other nonexistent? To that I say, word salad dressing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (2 children)

And how is this different from hail?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Hail specifically is "Precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters (0.2 inch) in diameter, usually associated with thunderstorms."

I also want to say that hail should have layers since it's the ice particles floating up and down creating layers and making the precipitation quite large.

In my mind sleet is precipitation that doesn't have snowflake patterns and are solid when they reach the ground. Freezing rain is when the rain is liquid but freezes after it lands on the ground.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago
  • Hail is large of pellets during a thunderstorm and happens in warm weather.
  • Sleet is small ice droplets during winter. Basically rain that froze before hitting the ground.
  • Freezing rain is just rain is falling when it's below freezing out and freezes onto things. It's very dangerous.

"Ice rain" is ambiguous and I've never heard it before yesterday. It sounds more like it would mean sleet.