Freezing rain develops when falling snow encounters a layer of warm air aloft, typically around the 800 mbar (800 hPa; 80 kPa) level, causing the snow to melt and become rain. As the rain continues to fall, it passes through a layer of subfreezing air just above the surface and cools to a temperature below freezing (0 °C or 32 °F or 273 K).

1 day ago · Freezing rain forms from specific circumstances in the atmosphere. It requires ice crystals falling into an above freezing layer of air that melts the ice crystals into water droplets. These water droplets fall into a sub-freezing layer that supercools them, but doesn't cause them to freeze. When those water droplets hit a surface, they ...

5 days ago · Due to it being benign rain initially, the onset of freezing rain may be completely missed by those where freezing rain is falling until it begins to accumulate as ice. Here are five reasons why ...

Jan 2, 2025 · Freezing rain occurs when the atmosphere is too warm for snow, but the ground is freezing. Freezing rain can cause major tree damage and widespread power outages.

Dec 3, 2024 · Freezing rain is a type of winter precipitation that falls as liquid water but freezes upon contact with surfaces. Freezing rain forms under specific atmospheric conditions and causes hazards. The causes of freezing rain involve temperature inversions and …

Jan 17, 2025 · Freezing rain is simply rain that falls through a shallow layer of cold temperatures at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) near the surface. When this rain becomes super-cooled,...

Jan 31, 2024 · Like sleet, freezing rain usually starts as snowflakes, and then falls through a warm layer in the atmosphere where it turns into rain. It refreezes when it touches surfaces that are below freezing temperatures.

Jan 5, 2025 · Freezing rain forms under very specific atmospheric conditions. It begins as snow high up in the clouds. As the snowflakes fall, they pass through a layer of warm air that causes them to melt into raindrops. These raindrops then encounter a shallow layer of freezing air just above the ground.

Freezing rain occurs when snowflakes descend into a warmer layer of air and melt completely. When these liquid water drops fall through another thin layer of freezing air just above the surface, they don't have enough time to refreeze before reaching the ground.

Mar 27, 2011 · Freezing rain forms when a thin layer of cold air near the surface causes melted precipitation to become super cold. It then freezes on contact with exposed objects on the ground whose temperature is below freezing.