Graupel falls in Buchanan despite warm surface temperatures
Graupel falls in Buchanan as FOX 5 viewer Mary Mendoza-Erion captures soft, snow-like ice pellets during an unusual warm-surface afternoon in Haralson County on Oct. 29, 2025. (Courtesy: Mary Mendoza-Erion)
BUCHANAN, Ga. - Frozen precipitation arrived in North Georgia on Wednesday afternoon, but it was not snow.
Graupel spotted in Buchanan
What we know:
FOX 5 viewer Mary Mendoza-Erion shared a photo of graupel.
It is not uncommon for this type of frozen precipitation to fall this time of year in Haralson County.
Buchanan is about 45 miles west of Atlanta.
Graupel when it is warm?
What they're saying:
"The temperatures this afternoon are the warmest they can be for us to see graupel, but several thousand feet above the surface, temperatures are below freezing, and that’s why graupel is able to form," said FOX 5 Storm Team meteorologist Alex Forbes.
What is graupel?
Dig deeper:
Graupel is a type of frozen precipitation. Basically, soft ice pellets. It looks like tiny Styrofoam balls. It’s not sleet, and it’s not hail. Unlike hail, it’s soft and crushable. Unlike sleet, it’s opaque and more snow-like.
How does graupel form?
Graupel forms when a snowflake falls through a supercooled water layer. Those droplets instantly freeze onto the snow crystal, coating it. That coating turns the delicate snowflake into a round, rime-ice pellet. Think of it as "snowflake dipped in freezing fog."
Is freezing precipitation abnormal in October?
Timeline:
This is not unusual for this time of year, but what is unusual is the surface temperature. The earliest recorded autumn freeze usually happened in late September to mid-October.
Will winter be bad this year?
What's next:
Accumulation is not expected and roads are not expected to ice over due to the above-freezing temperartures.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center issued its official outlook for December through February on Oct. 16, stating that north and central Georgia fall into an "equal chances" zone, meaning no clear tilt toward above-, near- or below-normal temperatures or precipitation.
What you can do:
Download the FOX 5 Storm Team app for the very latest: fox5atlanta.com/storm.
The Source: The details in this article come from the FOX 5 Storm Team and the National Weather Service.