The Pensacola area is expected to see subfreezing temperatures coinciding with plenty of precipitation, which means drivers will need to be cautious of the types of hazardous road conditions brought about by the mix of freezing rain, rain and snow.
Rain is something Floridians are used to seeing, but snow is quite a bit more rare. How exactly does freezing rain differ from regular snow? Here's what to know.
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If snow is what happens to rain when it freezes, what exactly is freezing rain? According to the National Weather Service, freezing rain is what happens when snow completely melts as it falls through a warmer layer of air and begins to refreeze as it passes through a thin layer of freezing air just above the surface.
The thin layer of freezing air isn't thick enough to totally refreeze the rain, so instead, it coats everything on the surface in a glaze of ice. Freezing rain can cause dangerous travel conditions even in small amounts, according to the NWS.
Sleet happens when snowflakes are only partially melted in a shallow layer of warmer air. The precipitation turns into "slushy drops" that are refrozen through a thin layer of freezing air just above the surface.
When the sleet reaches the ground, it's a bit springier than freezing rain or snow, but it can accumulate just like snow would.
Snow is what happens when precipitation freezes. Snowflakes are basically a collection of ice crystals that hold together as they fall toward the surface. As long as the air stays at or below freezing temperature (32 degrees), the snow will remain intact.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Snow vs freezing rain: What's the difference?