SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ifr-ice-pellets-warning

You see ice pellets at the surface. What do they tell you about conditions aloft?

Ice pellets indicate icing above.

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  1. The air aloft is warm all the way up
  2. There is icing aloft, possibly severe ✔
  3. The sky is clear above the clouds

Why: Ice pellets are frozen raindrops that fell through a deep layer of below-freezing air. The handbook says they indicate icing above, and the icing can be severe.

Huh, didn't know that: A favored location for severe clear icing is freezing rain or freezing drizzle below a front.

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Why did the freezing rain get an award? It really made an impression.
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References

Answer: There is icing aloft, possibly severe. Ice pellets are frozen raindrops that fell through a deep layer of below-freezing air. The handbook says they indicate icing above, and the icing can be severe.

  1. FAA Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B) www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/FAA-H-8083-28B.pdf
    Ice pellets indicate icing above. The icing can be severe
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  2. FAA Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B) www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/FAA-H-8083-28B.pdf
    A favored location for severe clear icing is freezing rain and/or freezing drizzle below a front.
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  3. FAA Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B) www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/FAA-H-8083-28B.pdf
    If the below-freezing layer is shallow, freezing rain will occur at the surface.
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  4. FAA Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B) www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/FAA-H-8083-28B.pdf
    If the below-freezing layer is deep, the supercooled droplets may freeze into ice pellets.
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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