PDA

View Full Version : Sleet reported as hail?

Dan Robinson
12-16-2007, 09:52 AM
The ASOS in Charleston was reporting this as small hail a few minutes ago:

http://stormhighway.com/blog/dec1607a-sleet.jpg

Thought that was a little unusual.
Joel Wright
12-16-2007, 01:11 PM
I almost wonder if because the sleet pellets are larger than normal? Just judging by the picture it looks like those are some healthy sleet pellets. Although not that unusual, they do look a bit larger than average.

Either that or I've had too much coffee this morning lol.
rdale
12-16-2007, 05:19 PM
It was an automated observation, so some algorithm determined that...
Darin Brunin
12-16-2007, 07:12 PM
It was an automated observation, so some algorithm determined that...

O Rly? Since he stated that it was from an ASOS, I am pretty sure he already knew that. No need to be Mr. Smart Guy in this situation Mr. Dale.
rdale
12-17-2007, 01:42 AM
Darin PM'ed me for more info, so I'll answer here in case anyone else has questions...

Almost every METAR is based on an automated system. A02 is completely automatic. A02A means that there is a human there to QC and possibly augment the observation. Depending on the level of service at the corresponding airport, it can range from just making sure things are going out well (i.e. 'babysitting') to adding in additional cloud layers / precip types / snowfall amounts etc. There's a list on the FAA site which indicates the service levels.
Karen Politte
12-17-2007, 10:47 AM
Strengely enough, in the UK (at least in my region LOL) they report sleet as hail. I grew up calling *any* round pellet from the sky hail. It rarely came from thunderstorms.

"Sleet" in the sense of the word where I come from is regarded as a wet rain-snow mix. Don't hit me. :p :confused:

KL
MatthewCarman
12-17-2007, 05:29 PM
Dan were you in the exact location the hail was being reported? What was the weather you were recieving? (wintery mix or thunderstorms?)
davecarlsen
12-17-2007, 08:03 PM
Strengely enough, in the UK (at least in my region LOL) they report sleet as hail. I grew up calling *any* round pellet from the sky hail. It rarely came from thunderstorms.

"Sleet" in the sense of the word where I come from is regarded as a wet rain-snow mix. Don't hit me. :p :confused:

KL

Here in Canada, too. "Sleet" is a mix of rain and snow. What Americans call "sleet", we call "ice pellets".

Put otherwise, in Canada (METAR):
PL = ice pellets
RASN = sleet/mix of rain and snow


So you're not alone, Karen. :)