Freezing Rain is a type of precipitation that begins as
snow at higher altitude, falling from a
cloud towards earth, melts completely on its way down while passing through a layer of air above freezing temperature, and then encounters a layer below freezing at lower level to become
supercooled. This water will then
freeze upon impact of any object it then encounters. The ice can accumulate to a thickness of several
centimetres, called
glaze ice. The
METAR code for freezing rain is FZRA. (see
freezing drizzle for another way of forming ice
accretion)
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