Rain and low-level snow wowed Southern Californians as a series of cold storms swept through the region in February.
We've also seen hail or graupel — a form of precipitation that might often be mistaken for snow and probably isn't even recognized by your spellcheck.
Here's what to know about the different types of precipitation.
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What is hail?
- Hail can occur in many temperatures.
- Solid stones of ice that are usually round.
- Will bounce if small enough.
- Will not break apart easily.
- Generally larger than a pea.
What is graupel?
- Temperatures generally need to be colder than 45 degrees to occur.
- Look for small and crumbly pellets of ice.
- Graupel comes in odd shapes, not necessarily round.
- Will usually deform on contact with a surface or break apart (rarely bounces)
How does graupel form?
Graupel forms when snow crystals fall into supercooled (freezing) water droplets. The droplets then freeze to the crystal in a process called riming or accretion.
Other water droplets ‘glue’ the rimed ice crystals together.
Graupel shapes are irregular, and usually elongated because of air resistance.
