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Graupel
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,251 Likes: 1
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OP
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,251 Likes: 1 |
" Finally snowed some "grapple" later in the day." This was buried in a topic on a different forum. I wouldn't have known what that was but for Shreve's comment on The Daily Coyote. Note: Years ago My ex & I had the pleasure of raising a coyote puppy, so I'm fascinated by what Shreve has accomplished.
Last edited by wagga; 02/21/10 05:27 PM.
Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,034
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,034 |
Graupel is a German word. They usally speak of "Graupelschauer" - and what that means is a really wet snow, semi frozen. Not hail, not snow - something in between.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 582
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 582 |
We got pelted with the stuff last Memorial Day on Casaval Ridge (Shasta):
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 8,509 Likes: 103
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 8,509 Likes: 103 |
Graupel is a German word. They usally speak of "Graupelschauer" - and what that means is a really wet snow, semi frozen. Not hail, not snow - something in between. Interesting... the German meaning seems to differ from the way people here use it. I think people here talk about graupel when it is well-frozen -- like little Styrofoam balls, and not so wet.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253 |
Sound like slush balls to me. Which are not fun but not as bad as pea-sized hail.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 582
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 582 |
'k I'm not sure then what to call what hit us on Shasta. It definitely wasn't hail, as those were snow balls and would easily crush when squeezed between fingertips. Hail to me is ice.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 215
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 215 |
Mike
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 202
Woodsy Guy
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Woodsy Guy
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 202 |
Let's hear it for Wikipedia: Under some atmospheric conditions, snow crystals may encounter supercooled cloud droplets. These droplets, which have a diameter of about 10 µm, can exist in the liquid state at temperatures as low as -40 degrees 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.[3] 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. [4]
I think it differs from hail in that the conditions that form it are colder and I also remember that hail gets circulated a number of times in the convection column of the cloud, where graupel seems to fall straight through, picking up moisture as it goes. Also, it doesn't hurt as much... . g.
None of the views expressed here in any way represent those of the unidentified agency that I work for or, often, reality. It's just me, fired up by coffee and powerful prose.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,037 Likes: 6
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,037 Likes: 6 |
Eskimos have many,many names for versions of snow-like stuff Eskimo names for snow
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 660
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 660 |
I always thought graupel was something you ate.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,256 Likes: 2
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,256 Likes: 2 |
I always thought graupel was something you ate. You're thinking of scrapple. And it's really not edible. Appropriately named: scrap - ple.
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,251 Likes: 1
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OP
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,251 Likes: 1 |
Smilla would have a good sense for that.
Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 695
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 695 |
Here is another link to a thread on AccuWeather that discusses the different kinds of non-liquid precipitation, including what is being talked about here. I found it interesting, although despite my long interest in weather, I may still have to go back and re-read this one a couple of times to cement in my mind the varying nuances of difference between some of the types of precipitation. CaT
If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it. - Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)
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Re: Graupel
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 908 Likes: 2
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 908 Likes: 2 |
That "whateveritis" makes a terrific ball-bearing, sliding layer for future avalanches. Layers of it can sometimes be detected lurking deep inside test snow pits...scary.
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