Is sleet rain or snow?

Sleet is a special precipitation phenomenon.

Sleet refers to a special precipitation phenomenon that rain and partially melted snow are mixed together and fall at the same time. Unlike hail and freezing rain, sleet is relatively low in hardness and more transparent, but there are some traces of ice crystals, which are re-condensed by some melted snowflakes. In any place, the occurrence process of this weather phenomenon is relatively short, often in the stage from rain to snow, or the opposite stage.

Extended data

Reason:

The special condensation phenomenon of sleet requires temperature, which mainly occurs when the temperature of the part closest to the ground is slightly higher than the freezing point of water (0℃ or 32℉). For the low-level warm air below the freezing height, in order to melt the snow falling from high clouds into rain, the thickness of the air layer of warm air will change between 230m and 460m, which is caused by the mass of snowflakes and the vertical temperature gradient of the atmosphere in the melting layer. When the thickness of dissolved layer atmosphere enters this range, rain and partially melted snow will naturally mix together and fall to the ground to form sleet.

Baidu encyclopedia-sleet