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Home » SHV Home » Freezing
Rain Description
Freezing
Rain
Definition: Rain that falls through a shallow layer of
freezing temperatures at the surface and freezes upon impact to form a coating
of glaze upon the ground and on exposed objects (e.g., pine trees).
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The red line is a
temperature profile through a portion of the atmosphere. In this
example, the snowflakes completely melt and fall through a shallow
freezing layer not allowing them to refreeze into sleet before reaching
the ground. As a result when the liquid droplets encounter exposed
objects they freeze upon contact.
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The Wednesday 6 am sounding on December 13th 2000 at Shreveport indicated
a melting layer between 3,000 and 11,300 feet with approximately 4,000
feet where temperatures were between 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The shallow freezing layer was from the surface to 3,000 feet with
the coolest temperature at 2,100 feet at around 23 degrees Fahrenheit.
This temperature profile of the atmosphere (sounding) caused the snowflakes
to completely melt and then not have time to refreeze into sleet before
reaching the ground. Further north, across the Red River Valley of
northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, and southwest Arkansas, the freezing
layer at the surface was larger (more depth) so the liquid droplets
had time to freeze into sleet.
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