The presence of ice pellets at the surface indicates which condition aloft?

• A. A temperature inversion with freezing rain at a higher altitude
• B. A dry layer aloft with no precipitation
• C. A warm front moving into the area
• D. A surface high-pressure system

Answer: (A)

Ice pellets, or sleet, tell you there is a warm layer aloft overlain by a subfreezing layer near the surface. Precipitation melts as it falls through the warm layer and then refreezes in the cold layer before reaching the ground. That requires a temperature profile with warmer air above cooler air, i.e., a temperature inversion at some level aloft. So, seeing ice pellets at the surface indicates an inversion with freezing precipitation occurring higher up. The other scenarios don’t produce this specific combination of melting aloft and refreezing in a shallow near-surface cold layer.