Wiktionary
n. 1 (ice pellet English) 2 Small hail, generally less than 5 millimeter (0.2 inch) in diameter. 3 (context chiefly Canada and US meteorology English) sleet.
Wikipedia
Ice pellets are a form of precipitation consisting of small, translucent balls of ice. Ice pellets are smaller than hailstones which form in thunderstorms rather than in winter, and are different from graupel ("soft hail") which is made of frosty white rime, and from a mixture of rain and snow which is a slushy liquid or semisolid. Ice pellets often bounce when they hit the ground or other solid objects, and make a higher-pitched "tap" when striking objects like jackets, windshields, and dried leaves, compared to the dull splat of liquid raindrops. Pellets generally do not freeze into a solid mass unless mixed with freezing rain. The METAR code for ice pellets is PL (PE before November 1998).
Usage examples of "ice pellets".
All he saw was diagnostic ice gear, most of it smashed beyond recognition by the ice pellets.
A hint of what the weather held in store came as a few ice pellets smacked her face.
The wind outside was filled with ice pellets blowing from the north.
Snow and ice pellets fell through the sunlight, shattering the light waves into the colors of the rainbow.
Upon Sanda's back they rose into the night skies, through the storm clouds, the gusts of snow and ice pellets, until the moon broke through.
Meanwhile, a monstrous, diatreme-induced rainstorm pounded the eruption area and helped to melt the drifts of ice pellets.
The rain began to fall more heavily from clouds that had darkened, unnoticed by Cerryl, and mixed with the droplets were ice pellets that bounced off the oiled leather of his jacket.