Name That Precipitation

[Jim Katen]

Does anyone know the name of this kind of precipitation? It consisted of small frozen spheres of snow, about 3/32" in diameter. They weren't hard like hail; they were light & fluffy but perfectly round, like tiny white cotton balls, kind of like a cross between snow & hail.

???

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[hausdok]

snail ? [:-dunce]

[Jim Katen]

snail ? [:-dunce]

Now there's a good image. Snails raining down from the sky. Very biblical.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Inspectorjoe]

Graupel

[Richard Moore]

I was going to go with Hail-Lite but it looks like Joe spoiled the fun with the correct technical term. Still, it is hard to imagine saying "Oh look Honey, it's graupelling!"

[kurt]

OK, Joe wins this round of "Obscure Information That No One Knows".

Previously, Kibblel reigned, but we have a contender in the wings.........

[AHI in AR]

Graupel sounds like something on the menu at a German restaurant.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Here's the definition of graupel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graupel

I honestly thought Joe was making that up----I should have known better than to doubt ya Joe

[Inspectorjoe]

Bill has no need to worry about losing the "Obscure Information That No One Knows" crown.

I don't have any trouble recalling useless trivia, but I often draw a blank when it comes to remembering important stuff, like the names and faces of clients. I've already done a second inspection for a buyer who backed out of a deal less than two months previously. The name didn't ring a bell. At the inspection, I met her at the sidewalk and introduced myself. She replied "We already met". "Oh? Where" I asked. "A month and a half ago, at my other inspection". Oops.

On the other hand, I can remember houses with no problem. Last summer I did an inspection for a young woman. Her mother was there, arriving after the inspection started. I introduced myself to mom. You can probably guess where I'm going with this. It turned out that I did her inspection back in 2001, so I didn't feel so bad about not remembering her. I asked her to describe the house, and then suddenly it came back to me like I did it yesterday. You should have seen the look on her face when I reeled off "Yeah, it was on a cul-de-sac. It had a metal roof, and at the porch, it was all dented in front of the bedroom windows. It was raining lightly, ............".

I wish there was some way to rewire my brain to better prioritize recall.

[Jim Katen]

Graupel

Thanks. I knew there had to be a term for it.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[MTL_Inspet_Man]

sleet or frozen rain