Graupeling

Under Blue Skies

Warning: by reading this post, you may learn something you didn’t already know. This post is about graupel, a physical phenomenon that exists in nature. It cannot be denied by SCOTUS or outlawed by Republicans. MTG has not railed against it. James Comer has not opened an investigation into its existence. Florida has not banned it. The only problem with mailing it across state lines are physical, not political. To my knowledge, there are no anti-graupel political groups, no Save Our Graupel movements, and no pending lawsuits that name Graupel as plaintiff or defendant.

Here is a brief video of what I just saw out my back window. Note the precipitation despite the blue sky. Welcome to March in the Land of Enchantment.

The stuff you can see falling from the sky is not rain, snow, sleet, or hail. It is graupel.

Graupel is a German word meaning "white barley." You know, that plump round grain often used in soups and stews.

Graupel are soft, small pellets formed when supercooled water droplets (at a temperature below 32°F) in air are collected and freeze onto falling snow flakes (snow crystals). This process of supercooled water droplets freezing onto the surface of ice crystals is known as riming and forms 2–5 mm balls of crisp, opaque rime. If the riming process is particularly intense, the rimed snow crystal can grow to an appreciable size, but remain less than 0.2 inches.

Did you know? Supercooled water is water that exists as a liquid at temperatures below freezing. This is why the temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit is mainly referred to as the “melting point” and not the “freezing point” since water always melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but can exist as a solid or liquid at or just below freezing. Who knew?

Graupel forms fragile, soft, oblong crystals and falls in place of typical snowflakes in wintry mix situations, often in concert with ice pellets. However, graupel may also occur during thunderstorms. Graupel is fragile enough that it will typically fall apart when pressed on.

Graupel is also called soft hail, corn snow, hominy snow, or snow pellets. Graupel is distinct from hail and ice pellets in both formation and appearance. It is said to resemble a frozen dessert called “Dippin Dots”. (I actually ate Dippin Dots at a convention once. Ice Cream has nothing to worry about, just saying.)

Credit: Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center

Graupel grains. Credit: The International Classification for Seasonal Snow on the Ground / Garcia Selles

https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/snowpack/weak-layer/storm-snow-weak-layers/graupel-rimed-particles/

While graupel isn't necessarily rare, the right atmospheric conditions have to be present in order for it to form. The atmosphere has to be cold–but not too cold. Apparently, the key to the formation of graupel like any precipitation is the depth of cold (or not cold) air, and how cold or warm these different layers are. For a reasonably understandable explanation see https://www.rochesterfirst.com/weather/weather-glossary/graupel-defined-a-k-a-dippin-dots-from-the-sky/

And now most of us have learned something we didn’t already know. If you didn’t, odds are you didn’t read the post or you are a meteorologist.

This brief interlude from the political chaos swirling in our minds and the world around us has been brought to you by Mother Nature.