Rain and snow mixed

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/rain-and-snow-mixed

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the precipitation classification?Hydrometeor composed of liquid raindrops and partially melted snowflakes
2. What is the distinction from ice pellets?Soft and translucent, not hard like ice pellets
3. What is mixed rain and snow?Mixed rain and snow, also called sleet in Commonwealth English, is when raindrops and partially melted snowflakes fall together. It looks like soft, translucent slush with some ice crystals.
4. Why does mixed rain and snow happen?It happens when snowflakes fall through a warm layer of air that isn’t warm enough to melt them completely, so they become partially melted before reaching the ground.

Hydrometeor: Any form of water particle, liquid or solid, that falls from the atmosphere.
Thermodynamics: The branch of physics dealing with heat and its relation to other forms of energy and work.
Supercooled Water: Liquid water that remains in the liquid state below its freezing point.