TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - There are many different kinds of winter weather that we see.
Some of them are a little more confusing than others, so here's what you need to know.
The first and one of the easiest is snow.
With this, there's no warm air in the atmosphere, and the snow falls all the way to the surface without any kind of melting.
The next is sleet, which can be a little more tricky.
When snow falls high in the atmosphere, it briefly melts on its way down to the ground.
Before hitting the ground though, it refreezes, making these small white pellets that almost look like snow.
Sometimes, these pellets can also bounce when falling.
Next is freezing rain.
What happens here depends on the ground temperature.
The snow melts as it falls to the ground, but then refreezes when it makes contact with the ground or any surface.
This is what can make a coating of ice on surfaces.
Finally, the rain. This is one of the more common ones that we can see year round.
In the winter, it falls as snow high in the atmosphere but then melts on its way down to the ground.
With winter weather making its way into the valley this week, remember these different kinds of precipitation.
Some can be more dangerous than others.
