METAR question

[mannymux]

How do you interpret this on a metar?

+RASNPL

My question is the SNPL considered moderate or heavy? I know the rain is heavy. Thx..

[cavortingcheetah]

Don't know that the rain is heavy but there is snow and also ice pellets about.

[TopBunk]

Seriously, I think I'd be hard pushed to tell the difference if I were standing on the ground in the middle of it.

What difference do you perceive to the operation of an aircraft in any combination of the possibilities?

Heavy rain or heavy snow/ice pellets or heavy rain & snow/ice pellets - I assume that pellets are associated with the snow!

There is clearly heavy precipitation around 0deg C - surely that tells you all you need to know - the weather is horrible!

[hvogt]

According to Regulation 15.8.6 of the WMO Manual on Codes, Volume I.1, Part A, Section A, the intensity qualifier preceding a group with more than one form of precipitation refers to the total precipitation.

Of course, TopBunk has a fair point when he says the question is somehow rather academic.