Bundling up, I prepared to retrieve my newspaper from the lawn, where the carrier normally throws it. Imagine my surprise when I opened my front door and discovered the paper on the porch. Which was very pleasant, indeed, considering the icy drops were coming down fast and hard, and I didn't want to add boots and an umbrella to my ensemble.
Like it always does, the question went through my mind: What's the difference between sleet and freezing rain? Only this time, I did something about it. I went to the Google and asked the National Weather Service.
Obviously, my search was not unique, because the answer popped right up.
Both forms of precipitation start out as just raindrops. The distinction comes when they hurl earthward. If the layer of freezing air is thin, you get freezing rain. The water doesn't freeze in the air, it does so when it hits the ground, making it a real challenge to clean your car and walk around without landing on your ass.
Sleet, on the other hand, reaches the earth in the form of frozen droplets -- confirming that this morning's precipitation was, in fact, sleet. (Now it's turned to snow. I certainly know what that is.)
It's entirely possible that this little weather lesson was an education only to me. I was probably taught it a long time ago during my school years, but it was lost in a haze of other knowledge, most of it useless, that is taking up space in my cranium. (Just to note, some people do think remembering Beatles lyrics is worthwhile.)
Oh well. I figure if I learn something of value every day, no matter how trivial, I can feel a little less like I'm rocketing my way toward a doddering old age.
Speaking of being an old fart, I decided, just for shits and giggles, to go to our 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume XXV, to see what it had to say about sleet.
Pretty much the same thing, it turns out, with one notable exception: It says that in some cases, sleet may actually begin as snow, not rain, with the transformation taking place as the precipitation encounters an air temperature just above the freezing point.
I'm sure the National Weather Service just decided this level of thoroughness wasn't necessary, that most folks would be satisfied with the edited version. But it does make me wonder how much of the knowledge we get from the internet is condensed in order to keep it mainstream enough for the person of average intelligence.
I'm not a big fan of abridged books, either. I prefer to get the whole story. I'm not comfortable with someone else deciding what's important to me.
But once again, I digress. If digression were an Olympic sport, I'd win the gold every time.
I'm sure there are those who would argue I need to be abridged. Maybe so. But it's my blog, and I have the luxury of bloviating to my heart's content.
Read at your own peril. You've been warned!
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