soft hail; snow pellets
Meteorological term for precipitation consisting of white, opaque ice particles that are softer and smaller than true hail. Often used in weather forecasts.
See also: 氷霰
There may be soft hail today.
Snow pellets often melt quickly once they accumulate on the ground.
Common spelling using kanji for 雪 and kana for あられ, making the reading clear.
Kanji spelling; 霰 alone can be read あられ, but the compound 雪霰 is less common and may be unfamiliar to some readers.
Compound of 雪 (yuki, 'snow') and あられ (arare, 'hail' or 'small ice particles'). The term describes precipitation that is snow-like but pellet-shaped.