# What's up with the sleet in SNE?



## Greg (Nov 29, 2007)

Last year the two biggest NE storms, V-Day and St. Patrick's Day, both resulted in more sleet than anything else in my neck of the woods, despite the temps being in the teens for much of the storms' duration. I don't ever recall seeing so much accumulating sleet (5-6"). Now it looks like Sunday night's event will again feature sleet. What gives? I know it's a result of over-running warm air, but it seems in past winters, when that happened it would snow early on with a brief sleet event, and then change to rain. As a CT resident, I don't mind taking some for the team so that NNE can score big dumps, but we would like a bit of love from time to time too.... :???:


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## loafer89 (Nov 29, 2007)

It's very likely that all of Connecticut will change to rain at some point with this upcoming storm. Rain is forecasted northward into the Berkshires come monday morning. Albany North should stay mostly snow (I hope).


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Nov 29, 2007)

Sleet makes for a great base and skis really nicely..we also received like 5 inches of sleet during last years Valentines storm but the St. Pattys day storm was mostly snow..


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## loafer89 (Nov 29, 2007)

I skied in about 12" of sleet during the great ice storm of 1998 at Sugarloaf. It's like skiing in granulated sugar.


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## marcski (Nov 29, 2007)

Greg said:


> Last year the two biggest NE storms, V-Day and St. Patrick's Day, both resulted in more sleet than anything else in my neck of the woods, despite the temps being in the teens for much of the storms' duration. I don't ever recall seeing so much accumulating sleet (5-6"). Now it looks like Sunday night's event will again feature sleet. What gives? I know it's a result of over-running warm air, but it seems in past winters, when that happened it would snow early on with a brief sleet event, and then change to rain. As a CT resident, I don't mind taking some for the team so that NNE can score big dumps, but we would like a bit of love from time to time too.... :???:



Maybe, Global Warming/Climate Change?


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## loafer89 (Nov 29, 2007)

Maybe higher than normal sea surface temperatures.


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## petergriffen (Dec 2, 2007)

Ice pellets (sleet) frequently occurs mixed in with freezing rain, and is made of frozen raindrops. Sleet forms in advance of a warm front in the wintertime in a narrow band, usually sandwiched between an area of snow and an area of rain or freezing rain associated with an extratropical cyclone. Rain being produced in a warm layer aloft falls into a cold air layer below. If the cold layer is deep enough, then the raindrops freeze. If the cold layer is very dry, sleet will more readily form due to evaporative cooling.


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