graupel

noun grau·pel \ ˈgrau̇-pəl \

Definition of graupel

: granular snow pellets — called also soft hail

graupel was our Word of the Day on 01/17/2012. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of graupel from the Web

Been a while since this warm in early May Before the warmth really settles in, be prepared for a chilly and rainy Monday that could even see graupel in some areas.

— david epstein, BostonGlobe.com, "A look at how hot it will get this week, and what that means for New Englanders," 30 Apr. 2018
Stellar fit and weather protection make these our four favorite top layers Whether it’s sleet, graupel, drizzle, or downpour, soggy comes in many flavors.

— kelly bastone, Outside Online, "The Best Rain Jackets for Women," 12 Apr. 2018
What starts in the clouds as snow can fall as sleet, rain, freezing rain, or even graupel (snowflakes pocked with rime ice).

— geoff fox, Slate Magazine, "Why Are We So Bad at Predicting How Much Snow We’ll Get?," 3 Jan. 2018
Tiny pellets of ice, called graupel, may shower down during intense burst of snow, but a few hailstones of pea or even dime size could occur in the most intense thundersnow.

— matthew cappucci, Washington Post, "This nor’easter has the potential to produce epic thundersnow," 7 Mar. 2018
The answer: a mix of hail and graupel , Kurth said.

— benjy egel, sacbee, "Hail blankets Sacramento - or was it snow? - and social media goes wild | The Sacramento Bee," 27 Feb. 2018
Closer to home, a couple quick spritzes of graupel and snowflakes have been happening.

— jason samenow, Washington Post, "Briefly disruptive snow showers, mainly north of the city this evening. Some icy roads overnight as well.," 13 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'graupel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The word graupel is Germanic in origin; it is the diminutive of Graupe, meaning "pearl barley." According to etymologists, there does seem to be a grain of truth in the assumption that the word grew from the Slavic word krupa, which has the same meaning. Graupel was first seen in an 1889 weather report and has been whirling around in the meteorology field ever since to describe "pellets of snow" or "soft hail" (the latter phrase is an actual synonym of graupel).