It all starts with water Precipitation It all starts with water
What is a cloud? - a collection of water droplets or ice crystals that form as warm air rises, cools, and condenses in the atmosphere
What is precipitation? - any moisture that falls from the air to the surface of Earth: rain, freezing rain, snow , sleet, or hail
Precipitation
1. Rain: water drops fall from clouds to the ground.
2. Snow: air temperature is so cold that water vapor freezes directly to a solid in the cloud and falls to the Earth.
3. Hail: drops of falling water freeze and fall, then outer layer melts, then more vapor freezes. Occurs in strong winds. This forms layers within the hail. The more this process repeats, the larger the hail stone.
4. Sleet: rain falls from the cloud and passes through a layer of cold air where it freezes into small ice pellets which hit the ground.
5. Freezing Rain: rain starts in clouds and freezes when it comes into contact with a cold surface on the ground.