Tag Archives: Texas Storms

Ice Pellets?

Red is familiar with freezing rain and sleet.  But had never seen “ice pellets” in the forecast until yesterday.  With Winter Storm Inga upon us, Red figured he had better check it out.   Turns out that ice pellets is just another name for sleet.

Ice pellets are a form of precipitation. They are small, translucent or clear balls of ice. Ice pellets are rain drops that have frozen before they hit the ground. When they hit the ground, they bounce. Ice pellets are also called sleet and can be accompanied by freezing rain.

Thanks to the Weather Guys in Wisconsin who know way more about such matters than warm weather Red.

Today in Texas History

From the Annals of the Hail from Hell –  In 1995, a surprise and deadly hail storm struck Fort Worth  and Dallas.  The super-cell thunderstorm was characterized as the worst recorded hail storm to hit the U.S. in the 20th Century.  The storm hit on a warm Friday afternoon that had attracted many thousands to various outdoor venues and in particular the Fort Worth Mayfest.   The sudden storm caught many in the open when tennis-ball-sized hail began to fall.  Victims suffered broken bones, deep lacerations and bruises from the hail stones. The hail also caused considerable property damage in western Fort Worth.  It even disrupted air traffic throughout the country because of delays at DFW.  Seventeen people died in the storm – but none from hail.  Rather, flash flooding caused the fatalities with most of the victims being drowned after attempting to cross flooded areas in their cars.  Two people were killed when a water filled roof collapsed.  At the time, it was considered to be the costliest hail storm in U.S. history.