Graupel Storms

[dale gleason]

For those who have noticed the news of graupel occurring in North Central Texas and
voiced their concern for the modellers in the area, be assured we're all okay. However, graupel
is forecast for the early morning hours tommorrow, so there is a probablility for more to come.
Thanks,
dale g

[Tim Wescott]

Dale, thank you for the word of the day.  I've never heard of graupel before.  Hail, sleet, freezing rain, yes.  Graupel, no.

So -- is it just white stuff that falls from the sky a bit harder than regular snow (like hail here in the Pacific Northwest), or is it something with the potential to be a dire weather emergency (like freezing rain here in the Pacific Northwest, and thank goodness we haven't gotten a real silver thaw for ages upon ages).

[dale gleason]

Recalling from Dr. Glaze's Advanced Chem Class in '61, "the cutoff point in the ultraviolet region is the absorbancy which appoaches unity using a one CM cell path and water as a reference", brings to mind that graupel can sublimate, often does, but under the right temp conditions, can revert to the liquid state and as such, having a dipolar moment, is a formidable solvent.

Having seen flyers at the NATs enduring swelling trailing edges, and loosening hinges, in flight, mind you, I circumvent such  happenstance by always using epoxy to affix hinges as opposed to titebond, elmers or other such water-soluble glues. Always. 

If the forecast holds true, perhaps I can photograph some graupel in the a.m.  Stay tuned!

dg

It goes without saying that should anyone purchase one of the kits I'm listing in the Classifieds that Sparky has set up so well for us, be sure to affix the hinges with epoxy. "Don't go look'in fer trouble", C. Yeager

[Perry Rose]

 In French speaking Canada they call it ,phonetically speaking, " kee rap aa voo".

[EddyR]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graupel      look here

[Steve Fitton]

I could deal with some graupel.  I'm tired of cold rain...

[dale gleason]

Well, thankfuly, the Graupel Storm missed us here at "Rock Ridge", in North Central Texas. All we got was just ordinary snow, which we can deal with. The local TV stations made quite a big deal about our brush yesterday with graupel. And like most of us who have some familiarity with sequence reports and have seen such symbols as SG for "snow grains" or "snow pellets", I had never heard the term "Graupel".

 Now I can turn my fretting concerns to the black hole at the center of our Milky Way that is eating ten or so stars per year...as determined by infra-red cameras aboard the SOPHIA Boeing 747SP.

Edit: Just to make sure, let me point out this is all in a humorous vein, cabin fever is rampant in this great land of ours....   

dg

[Mike Lauerman]

Dale, I couldn't help noticing your licence plates, (Texas: "Where they say "U-All"...)  Very appropo! 

[Paul Taylor]

Just landed @ DFW. A little white stuff on the roof of the terminal. Saw them de-iceing a plane.
Next flight in an hour. Headed to PDX.

Wish I had a longer layover of a few days. I would drive up to Mikes hobby shop, then hang out with Dale and Linda Bob!

[dale gleason]

Paul, that would be swell if you had the time, we'd come get you, maybe scare the Canada Geese off the circle and get in a few flights.
Check with us when you come back through on your way home. The last flyer we entertained was from Mongolia where he flies RC combat...we introduced him to the wonders of control line...hope he got the kit he bought at Mike"s Hobby Shop back in one piece!

Mike, yep, we say "you all", or "yaw'll" around here quite a bit. There is also another hidden meaning, the "175" and the "93" commemorate the UAL flights lost in 9/11, just to keep folks reminded. Every once in a while, someone will notice it and bring it up, thanks for the opportunity, I really appreciate it. In the picture I took this morning, I didn't think yaw'll could make out the license tags ("tags" is Texan for "plates").

Thanks,
dale g 

[Steve Helmick]

I guess what we get occasionally is Graupel and not hail. It's really not a big deal, is it? Maybe Howard can come up with a haiku about the subject and its significance in NW Stunt Contests?  Steve

[bill bischoff]

.. maybe something about "rhyme" ice.

[David Russum]

Graupel on the ground
Gamma bursts headed our way
Give us limericks!

[andrew stokey]

Hey Dale,  I was at Jenn's house "dog sitting" and experienced Graupel.  I think!!  The trucks were frozen solid with ice.  I think the rain froze after the temp dropped. BTW, we got caught in the snow storm on Christmas Day driving back from Longview.  Janice HAD to bring her supper at the hospital.
It's very interesting here in Texas, so far  LOL

[dale gleason]

Lesseenow....

'Once was a pilot got fooled
when he flew into snow..
and..and....
uh,
water droplets.... supercooled!
(Author unknown)

Man, is that ever lame, even by my standards.
but it is a five liner.  Where's that jive guy when you need him?   dg

[Robert Redmon]

Hey, Dale!

We had a scattering of graupel a few mornings back here in Wichita Falls. It was the first time I had ever seen it. Had to do a bit of research to discover its nature and name. I was the only one at my weekly coffee shop gathering of retired professors who knew what it was...very rare indeed. 

Bob

[Andrew Borgogna]

I believe this is what we see quite often in the mountains around So. Cal..  We call it "Popcorn" snow and it looks exactly like the Wiki picture of Graupel.  It's small round puffy balls of snow and it is quite commen in our mountains.
Andy Borgogna

[proparc]

I am down in Round Rock,(yes Dale I did relocate) could you some more rain here. If it doesn't come, I guess I will have to get on my hands and knees and Graupel,( I hope the moderators don't ban me for that one).

[Steve Helmick]

Enough Graupel! Many years ago, we were out flying FF's at "60 Acres" near Redmond, WA early on a cold foggy morning. As the fog burned off, the sun firmly shining, there were tiny ice particles falling from the sky. It wasn't snow, or hail or even Graupel, and nobody on the field had ever seen such a thing before. Is there a long foreign language word for it that is hard to pronounce? Why not? Has anybody else seen this phenomenon?  Steve

[Brett Buck]

Enough Graupel! Many years ago, we were out flying FF's at "60 Acres" near Redmond, WA early on a cold foggy morning. As the fog burned off, the sun firmly shining, there were tiny ice particles falling from the sky. It wasn't snow, or hail or even Graupel, and nobody on the field had ever seen such a thing before. Is there a long foreign language word for it that is hard to pronounce? Why not? Has anybody else seen this phenomenon?  Steve

   I've seen that, same sort of thing, clearing fog, bright sunshine, and airborne ice crystals. We always caused it ice fog.

    Brett

[Howard Rush]

There once was a pilot names Gleason
Who flew in airplanes for a reason.
Having no graupel tires,
His cars were in dire s-
traits, keeping him home for the season.


Edited to add critical comma.  I hope everyone-- Dennis Moritz in particular-- noticed the poetic breakthrough of breaking a word in mid-syllable.  

Edited again for another comma and a meter fix.  This is like trimming a stunt plane.

[john e. holliday]

Try that freezing moisture at night with a big full moon, stars and clear sky.   Going to the Drexel office have to cross the river.   The bridge looked like it had been snowing and was about an inch deep.    Yes, I have seen it when here was high humidity and the moisture starts to freeze and fall.

[dale gleason]

Ice Fog!

 How odd for that subject to arise....we had that recently, a whole bank of ice fog at the lake, not very tall, from the surface to the top perhaps fifty ft. As it "burned off" with the sun's warmth, a rainbow was formed. It didn't last very long. It wasn't wet, or even damp, rather it was dry , minute ice crystals, somthing you would expect to see above 30,000 ft. No one made much of a fuss about it, just Linda Bob and I, and the Quilting Ladies noticed it.

Ice Dog