snow pellets

American  

[snoh pel-its] / ˈsnoʊ ˌpɛl ɪts /

plural noun

1. precipitation, usually of brief duration, consisting of crisp, white, opaque ice particles, round or conical in shape and about two to five millimeters in diameter.

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Etymology

Origin of snow pellets

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Graupel, also known as snow pellets or soft hail, forms when water droplets freeze onto a snow crystal, according to the National Weather Service.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 30, 2024

Graupel is also called snow pellets or soft hail, as the graupel particles are particularly fragile and generally disintegrate when handled.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2023

The sky began to spit little snow pellets.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 13, 2015

The wind howled around the block-house and rattled the flag-staff, and the snow pellets sounded on the window-panes, giving that sense of warm comfort within that comes only with the storm.

From Castle Nowhere by Woolson, Constance Fenimore

Sifting snow pellets, and the little wild mare's beautiful anxious eyes and drifted forelock, then that form beneath the blanket.

From Judith of the Godless Valley by Morrow, Honoré