We've talked a lot about the winter storm coming to metro Detroit that brought freezing rain, sleet, snow and rain to the area.
But, do you know how freezing rain is formed? It all has to do with the upper air temperature and the lower air temperature.
7 First Alert Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes said there's a really fine line between freezing rain and sleet – usually only about a degree or two.
The warm front that moved into the area played a major factor in the freezing rain, according to Kevin.
When warm air moves in, there's a leading edge of warm air that rises up, which means there is warmer air hundreds or even a thousand feet up in the air.
The temperature in the upper air may be above freezing, but the air closer to the ground may be below freezing, and that's how you transition from snow to sleet to freezing rain.
If the raindrops fall through a cold enough pocket of air as it falls, it might have enough time to become an ice pellet. That's sleet.
However, when it's above freezing a few hundred feet above us, it falls down as rain, but if it's at 31-32 degrees right at the ground, it hits the ground and freezes.
