February 2007 North American blizzard Due to the three-dimensional nature of the atmosphere, warm air was poised to overtake the cold air closer to the ground, causing precipitation to melt, then refreeze as either sleet or freezing rain. As temperatures hovered around freezing on the southern edge of the storm track, light snow accompanied freezing rain and sleet. The freezing rain coated all surfaces with thick layers of ice, including power lines and tree limbs which break under the additional weight. Some locations in the Mid-Atlantic received several inches of sleet. Four inches (100 mm) of sleet caused travel difficulties and hampered cleanup efforts in
Hail hail swaths, which can be detectable by satellite after the storms pass by. Hailstorms normally last from a few minutes up to 15 minutes in duration. Accumulating hail storms can blanket the ground with over of hail, cause thousands to lose power, and bring down many trees. Flash flooding and mudslides within areas of steep terrain can be a concern with accumulating hail. Depths of up to have been reported. A landscape covered in accumulated hail generally resembles one covered in accumulated snow and any significant accumulation of hail has the same restrictive effects as snow accumulation, albeit over a