# Lapoviţă



## Linnets

Hi all,
what is exactly the meteorological precipitation called _lapoviţă_? Is it rain and snow mixed or is it composed by partially melted snowflakes that have refreezed in translucent ice pellets falling in a cold air layer near the ground?
Thanks in advance.


----------



## OldAvatar

My dictionary does not go into such detailed explanations. It just says that it is rain mixed with snow.
However, some sources, like the one from the Moldovan Institute of Meteorology say that it is a sort of snow which gets on the ground while temperatures are positive and therefore the snowflakes get melted.


----------



## Mika^

"Lapoviţă" could be translated as "sleet" or "ice pellets".


----------



## Linnets

Mika^ said:


> "Lapoviţă" could be translated as "sleet" or "ice pellets".


 
I've found this page and it clearly staes that _lapoviţă_ is a precipitation made of both liquid and solid water, unlike ice pellets (_mazarichea_?) which is completely solid. However, I think there's much confusion, like in many other languages.


----------



## Mika^

That is why I put "sleet" first, since that's the the closest term that I've ever encountered. That's what I would use to translate "lapoviţă". I might be wrong, obviously. 
Nevertheless, I've also heard "ice pellets" once or twice here, in Canada (Montreal), so that's why I put it as a second option. 
Again, these were just my two cents  .


----------

