Snow is comprised of small, delicate ice crystals, which form in the cloud when the temperatures throughout the cloud are below 0°C. Snow can fall in light flurries which don't settle on the ground at all or heavier longer lasting bouts which can accumulate on the ground, sometimes tens of centimetres deep.
Sleet is a mix of snow and rain. Sleet occurs when temperatures through the cloud aren't cold enough to only produce snow or when the cloud is high enough above the ground that the snow starts to melt as it falls towards the earth.
Hail is very different. Hail is made up of clumps or chunks of ice which are much larger than the crystals which make up snowflakes. Hail forms in a column of rapidly rising air within tall shower or thunderstorm clouds known as an updraft. And this means hail can form and fall in much warmer climates than where snowfall is possible. Where storms are powerful and updrafts are strong including the tropics and mid-latitudes.
So, while hail, sleet, and snow all fall from the sky, how they get there and what they look like depends on their journey through the atmosphere.
Learn the difference between snow, sleet and hail. Find out what they are, and when and how they form.
