Freezing rain is different from sleet. Snow melts in a warm layer, but the cold layer near the ground is too shallow for drops to refreeze in the air. They remain liquid and can freeze when they strike a freezing surface. Sleet has already frozen before impact.
Weather and climate · Discover & try
Why does rain sometimes arrive as snow or sleet?
Reading level 4 of 5 · FluentChange
Word help
sleet
Ice pellets that freeze before reaching the ground.
freezing rain
Liquid rain that freezes when it reaches a freezing surface.
temperature profile
How temperature changes with height through the air.
Watch · Try · Explain
See how it works
The interactive activity is loading.
Selected winter pathways through simplified air-temperature profiles; not a forecast.
What to look for
- Whether falling snow enters warm air
- The depth of the cold layer below
- Whether drops freeze before or after landing
Explain what you noticed
Which description matches sleet in this model?
Keep this idea: Precipitation depends on the air layers crossed.
Follow the sources
- NOAA National Weather Service — Winter Weather Precipitation
- NOAA National Weather Service — Will it rain, sleet or snow?
Source material checked 2026-10-28. Explanations and activities by Nepedia. Agency source links do not imply endorsement.
Keep following the idea
Next discovery →