Freezing rain happens when snowflakes melt into raindrops in a warm layer of air aloft, then fall into a very shallow layer of subfreezing air right near the ground so they stay liquid until they hit surfaces and instantly freeze there.

What makes freezing rain? (Quick Scoop)

Think of the atmosphere as a layered cake on a cold winter day. The recipe for freezing rain needs three key layers:

  1. Cold at the top (snow starts it all)
    • High up in the cloud, the air is below 0 °C, so precipitation begins as snow.
  1. A warm “melting” layer in the middle
    • As flakes fall, they pass through a layer of air that’s above freezing (often called a “warm nose”).
 * In this layer, the snow completely melts into regular liquid raindrops.
  1. A shallow cold layer near the ground
    • Close to the surface, there’s a thin layer of air that is below 0 °C again, but not deep or cold enough to refreeze the raindrops into sleet (ice pellets).
 * The drops become “supercooled” liquid water: still liquid, but below freezing temperature.

When these supercooled raindrops hit anything that is at or below freezing—roads, trees, cars, power lines—they freeze almost instantly into a clear, smooth glaze of ice.

Why it’s not just “cold rain” or sleet

  • If the surface layer of cold air is deeper , the drops have time to refreeze in the air and you get sleet (little ice pellets), not freezing rain.
  • If there’s no cold layer near the ground , it just falls as regular rain.
  • Freezing rain is that in‑between case: melted snow + too‑shallow cold layer near the ground = liquid drops that only freeze on contact with surfaces.

When does freezing rain usually happen?

  • Often with a warm front pushing over very cold air trapped near the ground, so warm air rides up over a shallow dome of cold air.
  • This can occur in valleys or where cold air gets “stuck” against terrain, while milder air slides over the top.

Because of this setup, freezing rain is tricky to forecast: small changes in the depth of those layers can flip you between snow, sleet, plain rain, or a dangerous ice storm.

Why freezing rain is such a big deal

Freezing rain is one of the most hazardous winter weather types because it coats everything in ice instead of piling up like snow. That thin, clear glaze can:

  • Make roads and sidewalks extremely slick with little visual warning.
  • Add heavy ice loads to trees and power lines, causing branches to snap and outages.

In everyday terms: snowflakes melt into raindrops up high, pass through just enough cold air near the ground to become supercooled, and then turn to ice the instant they touch a freezing surface—that’s what makes freezing rain.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.