DALLAS — Texans KNOW hail when they see it. It should be our state precip. Someone get working on that...
Anyway, what fell Thursday was not hail, nor snow, nor freezing rain, nor sleet. It was graupel.
Ok... What is it?
Graupel, is a form of precipitation that consists of small ice particles that forms around raindrops. Graupel forms when supercooled water droplets (water that remains in liquid form below freezing temperature) collect and freeze onto snowflakes.
This process creates small, round pellets of ice that are typically soft and easily crushed. Think... Sonic Ice.
Graupel is often mistaken for hail, but they are different in composition and formation.
Unlike hail, which forms through a different process in thunderstorms, graupel is typically associated with winter weather conditions and is commonly found in snow showers and thunderstorms with convective activity. And we had thunderstorms Thursday.
The thunderstorms provided enough rising motion for rain to enter even colder parts of the atmosphere where it connected with snow.
Graupel pellets are usually smaller than hailstones and have a softer texture. When graupel falls, it can create a crunchy or grainy layer of ice on the ground, resembling small beads of ice.
Overall, graupel is a pretty interesting form of frozen precipitation adding to the diversity of winter weather phenomena experienced in North Texas. We seriously see it ALL. Hopefully, this info wasn't too much to... graupel with. I'm sorry.