Originally Posted by
Riverside
Imagine your car. It is snowing outside and it is above freezing. The snow hits your car and it melts on contact. You swipe your hand and it's just water. Would you still deice?
Temp drops one or two degrees while in the line-up and now it's frozen on your wing. Crap happens. Not very often but our predecessors proved that if you play the odds with ice eventually it will go wrong.
If it's coming down or reported get at least type I if you can go within the HOT.
As others said if a PAX sends cell phone video of snow coming down to the FAA, you didn't de-ice, and the METAR says -SN you'll have an uphill battle to avoid a violation.
CYA...both your regulatory and physical butt.