Freezing rain air at the surface within the region of high pressure. The warm air from the Gulf of Mexico is often the fuel for freezing precipitation. Freezing rain develops when falling snow encounters a layer of warm air aloft, typically around the 800 mbar (800 hPa) level, causing the snow to melt and become rain. As the rain continues to fall, it passes through a layer of subfreezing air just above the surface and cools to a temperature below freezing (). If this layer of subfreezing air is sufficiently deep, the raindrops may have time to freeze into ice pellets (sleet)
2005 United Kingdom snow events North Yorkshire received 20 cm of snow over high ground, whilst the snow caused huge tailbacks on the A1 between Alnwick and Berwick. The snow showers petered later on the 29th as outbreaks of rain, sleet and hill snow moved into western areas. On Friday 30 December, a band of heavy rain pushed eastwards, with heavy snow on the leading edge. This brought several hours of snow followed by rain, where 20 cm fell in some parts of Yorkshire, with snowdrifts of 1 metre reported. The snow caused hundreds of drivers to be stranded on the A1079 during the late