1. Unit: Water and the Atmosphere Lesson #3: Precipitation Essential Questions: 1.) What are the common types of precipitation? 2.) What are the causes and effects of floods and droughts?

2. Types of Precipitation
Rain
Freezing
Snow
Hail
Sleet

3. What are the common types of precipitation?
Precipitation is any kind of water that falls from clouds and reaches the Earth’s surface.

4. Water droplets at least 0.5 millimeters in diameter are called rain.
Freezing rain is rain that freezes on a cold surface.

5. Snow forms when water vapor condenses directly to ice crystals within a cloud.
Hail is a round pellet of ice larger than 5mm in diameter.

6. Ice particles smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter are called sleet.