Graupel Isn't Snow, Nor Sleet, Nor Hail, So What the Heck Is It?

If you inhabit a place where snow falls a lot, then odds are that you've heard more than one name for this type of precipitation; that frozen stuff is not only called "snow," but it turns out that there are many nuanced forms of the words "snow" and "snow crystal."

In Scotland, where it snows for about 60 days a year in the highlands, there are 421 commonly known words and phrases used to describe snow crystals. These words range from flindrikin, which means a "slight snow shower," to snaw-pouther, which describes a "fine but driving snow." The Scots clearly aren't lumping all their snowfall into one category.

Graupel Isn't Snow, Nor Sleet, Nor Hail, So What the Heck Is It?