Along with temperature, humidity, wind, etc, precipitation is also one of the primary elements of weather used to measure and forecast weather. Precipitation is any type of water forming in the Earth’s atmosphere then falling onto the ground as a result of gravity. Precipitation can take several forms such as snow, rain, sleet, fog, and more. Right below here are different types of precipitation and how they form, so keep reading on if you want to learn more about the topic.
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Precipitation can take several forms
Rain
Rain is the most common form of precipitation. It consists of water droplets falling to the Earth’s surface when they become heavy enough in the clouds.
Rain occurs in all seasons, which depends on the temperature in the atmosphere, in the cloud (of course), and at the ground level as well. About freezing rain, this weather phenomenon happens when water droplets pass through a cold-air layer before hitting the ground and then freeze upon contact.
Do you know that meteorologists, in fact, use various terms to describe rain droplets? Drizzle is light steady rain, for example, and sprinkles are rain droplets falling in the form of fine drops and usually for short periods.
Rain is the most common form of precipitation
Snow
When it comes to different types of precipitation and how they form, it must be a big mistake if we don’t mention snow here. Snow is also a very common form of precipitation.
But not like rain, snow is precipitation falling down in the form of ice crystals. Snow forms when the temperature in the cloud levels is below freezing – less than -32°F (or 0°C). Water vapor freezes into ice crystals in the clouds and then falls to the ground in the form of flakes when the ice crystals become too heavy to remain suspended.
If temperatures on the surface of the Earth are above the freezing point, snow will occur and melt so quickly when hitting the ground. Snow has a complex structure. Despite the fact that the ice crystals are formed individually in clouds, they’ll stick together in clusters of while beautiful snowflakes when falling.
Not like rain, snow is precipitation falling down in the form of ice crystals
Sleet and hail
Two other forms of precipitation are sleet and hail which look quite similar when they fall on the ground. However, they are not the same for sure. While hail is generally associated with summer weather conditions, especially thunderstorms, sleet is more likely to appear during winter-like weather. Besides, while hail is basically ice balls, sleet is partly frozen rain.
Other different types of precipitation and how they form
In addition to major precipitation types like snow, rain, hail, and sleet as mentioned above, precipitation can take other forms like freezing rain, graupel, fog drip, and more.
Sometimes, different forms of precipitation fall at a time. Or in other words, they occur at the very same time. For instance, during harsh winter storms, it’s not unusual for rain and sleet to appear at once.
Well, when discussing “different types of precipitation and how they form,” it is necessary to note that there are times that precipitation doesn’t fall at all. Have you known or heard about Virga? It’s also a precipitation type that begins to fall from a cloud yet evaporates before reaching the ground
Conclusion
That’s all about different types of precipitation and how they form want we want to introduce to you in this article. Well, as you can see, precipitation can take several forms, right? And of course, different types of precipitation form in different weather conditions. In the end, hope that this article did provide you with interesting information!
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