What do ice pellets encountered during flight indicate?

Ice pellets, also known as sleet, occur when there is a layer of warm air aloft overlying a colder surface layer. As precipitation falls, it passes through this warm air where it melts into rain. However, as it continues to descend and encounters the colder air near the surface, it refreezes and falls as ice pellets.

This phenomenon is typically associated with the passage of a warm front, where warm, moist air is lifted over cooler air, causing this layered temperature profile. Encountering ice pellets during flight indicates that you are likely experiencing conditions just ahead of a warm front, where the transition from cold to warm air is occurring, leading to the formation of these ice pellets.

In contrast, a cold front is generally associated with more turbulent weather and occurrences like thunderstorms rather than the more stable, layered systems that produce ice pellets. Therefore, option B accurately reflects the meteorological conditions surrounding the presence of ice pellets in flight.