- published: 14 Mar 2016
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Graupel (also called soft hail or snow pellets) refers to precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water are collected and freeze on a falling snowflake, forming a 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) ball of rime. Strictly speaking, graupel is not the same as hail or ice pellets, although it is sometimes referred to as small hail. However, the World Meteorological Organization defines small hail as snow pellets encapsulated by ice, a precipitation halfway between graupel and hail.
The term graupel is the German word for the described meteorological phenomenon. Its METAR code is GS.
Under some atmospheric conditions, snow crystals may encounter supercooled water droplets. These droplets, which have a diameter of about 10 µm (0.00039 in), can exist in the liquid state at temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F), far below the normal freezing point. Contact between a snow crystal and the supercooled droplets results in freezing of the liquid droplets onto the surface of the crystal. This process of crystal growth is known as accretion. Crystals that exhibit frozen droplets on their surfaces are referred to as rimed. When this process continues so that the shape of the original snow crystal is no longer identifiable, the resulting crystal is referred to as graupel. Graupel was formerly referred to by meteorologists as soft hail. However, graupel is easily distinguishable from hail in both the shape and strength of the pellet and the circumstances in which it falls. Ice from hail is formed in hard, relatively uniform layers and usually falls only during thunderstorms. Graupel forms fragile, oblong shapes and falls in place of typical snowflakes in wintry mix situations, often in concert with ice pellets. Graupel is also fragile enough that it will typically fall apart when touched.
Actors: Wolfgang Schleif (director), Harry Hardt (actor), Karl-Heinz Kreienbaum (actor), Friedrich Schütter (actor), Herbert Tiede (actor), Albert Venohr (actor), Tilo von Berlepsch (actor), Maria Matray (writer), Erik von Loewis (actor), Hanns Lothar (actor), Gerda-Maria Jürgens (actress), Answald Krüger (writer), Hans Irle (actor), Hans Daniel (actor), Reinhold Nietschmann (actor),
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