10° above freezing and it’s a free for all

I’m at work, on a college campus.  It’s approximately 64° today, and you should see what the students are aren’t wearing.  Flip flops everywhere, and I swear I’ve seen more underwear today in 20 minutes than in a catalog.  Last night, upon leaving the movies, I actually saw one teenager with his pants so low that I could see bare leg under his shorts.  Doesn’t anyone wear a belt anymore?

Sleet: a definition

It’s sleeting out.  Or is it snowing?  How about raining freeze/freezing raining (showering freezing rain I guess is the best way to say it.  Which way do you like — comment)? Someone asked me the difference between “sleet” and “freezing rain” so I thought I’d clearly define them here (and maybe get a few more hits on my blog by people googling the terms.

OED: sleet, n.:

“1. a. Snow which has been partially thawed by falling through an atmosphere of a temperature a little above freezing-point, usually accompanied by rain or snow.

” b. A storm or shower of sleet. rare.” (Rare???)”

M-W: sleet, n.:

“frozen or partly frozen rain”

In case you were wondering, I found a very useful website with diagrams which explained it all.  The difference is the amount of thawing that occurs before the droplet/flake hits the ground.

OED available: http://www.oed.com/ (subscription required).
M-W available: http://www.m-w.com/ (free)