It may be several weeks into spring, but frozen precipitation could fall in parts of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana Wednesday.
According to a notice sent out by the National Weather Service, showers that are developing over the area Wednesday could produce a form of precipitation known as “graupel” as they move through the region.
There are several different types of frozen precipitation, but graupel is distinctive as it forms “soft, small pellets” when water droplets freeze onto a snowflake, according to the National Weather Service.
They are extremely delicate, and typically disintegrate when they are handled.
Some of the showers moving across northern Illinois & extreme northwest Indiana are producing graupel this afternoon! So if you see mushy icy pellets falling from the sky today, that is what it is! pic.twitter.com/MXlryNjTPy
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) April 9, 2025
Hail largely forms by the same process, but differs in its size, as it must be a minimum of 0.2 inches in diameter, whereas graupel must be below that threshold.
Sleet is another form of frozen precipitation, typically occurring when snow melts as it falls toward the ground. That water droplet then refreezes, forming sleet or freezing rain.
Stories
The Chicago area will likely have to bear at least two more days of colder-than-normal temperatures, but highs should finally climb into the 50s by Saturday and then into the upper-50s or low-60s by Sunday, according to forecast models.
Another brief cooldown is expected next week, but that won’t be quite as bad, with readings in the upper-40s or low-50s by Monday, according to forecast models.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
