Know more about these two forms of precipitation through this ScienceStruck article which gives a comparison between sleet and hail.Would you like to write for us? ScienceStruck helps you with some information about them and enlists the differences…Calculating the percent difference between two given values is quite an easy task. A post-Christmas winter storm that snarled traffic in Southern California is headed east; Aishah Hasnie reports.As the temperature drops and precipitation looms in the forecast, one form of When meteorologists forecast a winter storm, one of the most important questions they must answer is what type of precipitation is going to fall: rain, sleet or One type of precipitation people commonly describe as "hail" is actually sleet.Sleet is ice pellets or granulates of frozen rain, and occurs when rain falls through the air with temperatures below freezing, Ice pellets are smaller than hailstones which form in thunderstorms rather than in winter, and are different from graupel ("soft hail") which is made of frosty white rime, and from a mixture of rain and snow which is a slushy liquid or semisolid. Ice pellets often bounce when they hit the ground or other solid objects, and make a higher-pitched "tap" when striking objects like jackets, windshields, and dried leaves, compared to the dull splat … To be considered hail, the frozen precipitation pieces must have a diameter greater than 5 mm (.20″).Smaller in size than hail, ice pellets are globular and spherical in shape. You can use sleet and ice pellets interchangeably. Sleet is also called ice pellets. Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)...right to your inbox. Get in touch with us and we'll talk...We have all experienced what the weather is like when we say, “it’s raining cats and dogs”. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. It is known to be a winter phenomenon. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, "Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze," Hail falls when the thunderstorm's updraft can no longer support the weight of the newly formed hailstone if its large enough or the updraft of the storm weakens.When those stones fall at speeds up to 100 mph, they can cause damage to aircraft, homes and cars, and also be deadly to livestock and people.Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inboxThis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. It can be called a frozen raindrop, as it melts and refreezes while falling down.According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, hail is a form of precipitation that occurs when updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops upward into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere, where they freeze into ice. This continues until they become heavy, and the updraft force is weaker, after which they fall to the ground through a downdraft.Hailstones have layers of frozen water built over them in concentric layers.