What Is Sleet

Sleet, globular, generally transparent ice pellets that have diameters of 5 mm (0.2 inch) or less and that form as a result of the freezing of raindrops or the freezing of mostly melted snowflakes. Dec 8, 2013sleet occurs when snowflakes only partially melt when they fall through a shallow layer of warm air. Jan 12, 2026freezing rain and sleet are both types of wintry precipitation, but have vastly different consequences.

When sleet strikes hard surfaces, it produces a distinctive rattling or pinging sound, much like small beads hitting a window or car windshield. Oct 19, 2023sometimes the weather forecast warns of “ sleet,” rather than snow. 10 hours agofreezing rain and sleet, though they are different in appearance, are very similar in how they are formed.

Like freezing rain, sleet starts as snow, then melts and forms. Sleet is a regionally variant term for some meteorological phenomena: Sleet is a type of solid precipitation that occurs during winter weather.

Sleet has no internationally agreed definition but is reported in meteorological observations as a combination or mix of. Jun 4, 2024sleet consists of small pellets of ice that form by the freezing of raindrops or partially melted snowflakes as they fall through a layer of cold air.