What The Heck Is Graupel? Michigan’s Oddest Snowfall

Well, it seems it's really that time of year again. This morning, I woke up to my car covered in frost for the first time this fall. While waiting for my windshield to defrost this morning was jarring, that's nothing compared to the small town in Michigan that has already experienced its first snowfall of the season.

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However, it wasn't the fluffy white snow we're used to. Rather, it was what looked like snowy pellets falling from the sky, a phenomenon called "graupel". But what is graupel?

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First Snowfall

Michigan experienced its first snowfall on October 14th the Michigamme area reported 0.1 inches Tuesday. The area had received rain during the day Monday and experienced late night cool down, leading to the perfect atmospheric conditions needed for snow generation. However, the temperatures themselves were back to normal by the time the snow started to fall, leading to graupel.

Graupel on the ground in Marquette on Oct. 14, 2024
byu/mlivesocial inMichigan

What Is Graupel?

While pretty little snowflakes are the type of frozen precipitation we Michiganders are most used to, we've also experienced sleet on a decent basis and we get hail occasionally as well, but graupel is a type that seems to go under people's radar. Most assume it's just weird-looking snow, but it's actually its only type of precipitation.

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Graupel and Hail can look pretty similar to the untrained eye, but they are different. Hail is formed during thunderstorms and is hard and potentially damaging. Meanwhile, Graupel is often called "soft hail" because it looks like hail but is actually soft and wet.

Graupel is formed when supercooled water droplets freeze onto a snow crystal, a process called riming. Then when this falls it begins to melt, leading to its soft and wet feel. As a result, this type of snow doesn't last very long.

We'll most likely see more of this snow before the season gets into full swing, so keep an eye out.