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snow grains—(Also called granular snow.) Precipitation in the form of very small, white opaque particles of ice; the solid equivalent of drizzle. They resemble snow pellets in external appearance, but are more flattened and elongated, and generally have diameters of less than 1 mm; they neither shatter nor bounce when they hit a hard surface. Descriptions of the physical structure of snow grains vary widely and include very fine, simple ice crystals; tiny, complex snow crystals; small, compact bundles of rime; and particles with a rime core and a fine glaze coating. It is agreed that snow grains usually fall in very small quantities, mostly from stratus clouds or from fog, and never in the form of a shower.
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