Freezing rain occurs when:

Freezing rain occurs when rain falls from a cloud, passing through a layer of warmer air, and then encounters a colder layer of air right before reaching the ground. As the liquid droplets fall, they remain in a liquid state while traveling through the warm layer, but when they come into contact with the colder surface, they freeze upon impact. This phenomenon results in a layer of ice forming on surfaces such as roads, trees, and power lines, leading to hazardous conditions.

The other options refer to different processes. For instance, the first option suggests that rain freezes before it reaches the ground, which does not capture the melting and subsequent freezing process characteristic of freezing rain. The second option describes cold rain falling through warm air, but it does not specify what happens when the rain hits the ground, which is crucial to the definition. The last option refers to rain evaporating before it reaches the ground, which is a different meteorological phenomenon known as virga, unrelated to freezing rain. Understanding these distinctions helps clarify why the chosen answer is the accurate description of freezing rain.