Graupel, hail, sleet, freezing rain and snow all form differently on the way down from a cloud. Here's how to tell one from another.

I first heard it hit the bedroom windows at 6:05 a.m. on Tuesday morning. It was unmistakable, yet I couldn't, or rather, refused to believe it. The metallic tapping of sleet hitting the windows ...

There are four basic types of precipitation we see in the winter rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow.

So, let’s talk about how sleet and hail form. Sleet is a type of precipitation that can occur during winter storms. Temperatures are very cold near the base of clouds during winter weather.

Whether it's fluffy snow, a slop of sleet, icy freezing rain or just plain rain, temperatures on the precipitation's journey from the cloud means everything.

Where hail is formed in a hostile environment, the opposite is true for sleet. Also, sleet are small balls of ice (frozen raindrops), rather than being large and destructive.

With a wave of snow and freezing rain moving through the Tri-State Wednesday, we quickly started getting reports of frozen precipitation.

Most people are familiar with rain and snow, and know about sleet and freezing rain. But many don't know how each type of precipitation is formed.

There are many different types of precipitation. Here in Connecticut we see them all. But do you know how they form? Here’s how!

Sleet and Freezing rain are referred to as separate precipitation types, but what is the difference between them?

The conditions of each layer of the atmosphere determine what type of precipitation -- snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain -- reach the ground.

Snow, sleet, freezing rain and graupel are four different weather hassles that you might encounter this winter. First Alert Meteorologist Steve Sosna explains the differences among them.