By formanek on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 - 10:21 am: Edit Post
Yesterday here in Wadena, MN I went home to scrape off the rink as we got a whopping 1/10th of an inch of snow and fournd something I have NEVER seen.
The "Snow" was perfect spheres of different sizes. Exactly like that dipping dots ice cream. Wouldn't pack and just rolled as I scraped/shoveled it off the rink. Was that more sleet than snow?
By pseudonymous on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 - 11:25 am: Edit Post
Did it look like this?
What flavor?
By admin on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 - 12:25 pm: Edit Post
Jim-
Those were snow pellets or graupel.
They are formed when a snowflake falls through a layer of warm air that melts the edges of the flake. Before it can melt completely, it falls through a layer of air that stops the melting and you end up with a rounded snow flake.
-John
