Sanxiang*** February 22 (Quan** trainee reporter Li Zhiyuan) With a new round of rain, snow and freezing weather, it is a variety of meteorological phenomena and products that have emerged from the cold wave. The Hubei Provincial Meteorological Observatory said that in this round of cold wave, the phase type of precipitation in the province is complex, and a total of seven types have appeared. Among them, graupel as a phase that has rarely been popularized by science has attracted attention.
What is graupel? In this round of cold wave in Hunan, has it also encountered the "attack" of hail?
Liu Hongwu, chief forecaster of the Hunan Provincial Meteorological Observatory, explained, "Graupel is generally spherical, and occasionally there are cones, because the diameter of 2-5 mm is too small, it is sometimes mistaken for rain; Because of its granular shape and dense texture, it is sometimes mistaken for hail. ”
Liu Hongwu said that many people mistake hail for hail, but in fact, there is still a gap between the two. Hail mostly comes from cumulonimbus clouds with strong convection, generally in the range of 5-50 mm in diameter, and the large ones can reach a few centimeters or tens of centimeters. There is also a type of solid precipitation called ice particles, which are transparent pellets or irregular solid precipitation. Hard, generally hard**, often less than 5 mm in diameter, and sometimes with unfrozen water inside. Ice particles are larger in diameter than graupel and are transparent. "Graupel is a small white particle, so it can sometimes be mistaken for a snowflake. She said.
Regarding the **and** of some Hunan netizens about "graupel", Liu Hongwu said that at present, it is not certain that graupel has appeared in this round of freezing rain and snow in Hunan.