What Is Sleet?

What You'll Learn

• Sleet is small ice pellets that fall from the sky
• It forms when snow melts into rain, then refreezes before hitting the ground
• Sleet happens when there's a warm layer of air above a cold layer
• Sleet bounces when it hits the ground
• Sleet is different from hail, snow, and freezing rain

Words to Know

Sleet

Small bouncy ice pellets from the sky

"Sleet bounced off my umbrella."

Pellet

A small round piece

"The ice pellet was tiny and clear."

Layer

A band of air at a certain height

"A warm layer melted the snow."

Refreeze

To melt and then freeze again

"The rain refroze into ice pellets."

Check What You Learned

Fun Facts

• Sleet consists of small ice pellets that form when snow melts and refreezes before reaching the ground

  Source: National Weather Service / NOAA

• Sleet forms when a warm air layer sits above a sub-freezing layer near the surface

  Source: NWS

• Snow falls from clouds, melts into rain in the warm layer, then refreezes into ice pellets in the cold layer below

  Source: NOAA

• Sleet pellets are typically 0.08–0.2 inches in diameter and bounce on impact

  Source: NWS

• Sleet differs from hail (which forms in thunderstorms with updrafts) and freezing rain (which stays liquid until hitting a surface)

  Source: NOAA

• Sleet is officially called 'ice pellets' in NWS forecasts

  Source: NWS