Precipitation

Front

What is precipitation?

Back

Precipitation is any form of water, liquid or solid, that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface, including rain, snow, sleet, and hail.

Front

What is the most common form of precipitation?

Back

Rain is the most common form of precipitation.

Front

What type of solid precipitation forms in storm clouds?

Back

Hail is a type of solid precipitation that forms in storm clouds.

Front

What is sleet?

Back

Sleet is precipitation that starts as rain in warm clouds but freezes before reaching the ground due to cold surface temperatures.

Front

What is snow?

Back

Snow is formed when the temperature in the clouds is cold enough to freeze water vapor into ice crystals.

Front

What instrument measures air temperature?

Back

A thermometer measures the air's temperature.

Front

What is hail?

Back

Hail is a type of precipitation that consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, formed in strong thunderstorms.

Front

What conditions lead to the formation of snow?

Back

Snow forms when the air temperature is below freezing and water vapor in the clouds crystallizes into ice.

Front

What is the difference between sleet and hail?

Back

Sleet is small ice pellets that form when raindrops freeze before hitting the ground, while hail is larger ice balls that form in strong thunderstorms.

Front

What is a rain gauge?

Back

A rain gauge is an instrument used to measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period.