Precipitation

1. Precipitation “The sky is falling!” -Chicken Little

2. What is precipitation? Moisture or water vapor that condenses and falls as rain, hail, or snow

3. Rain What happens when it rains? • Clouds, which hold water particles within, move constantly. As this happens, the water particles collide and join together. When they become too heavy, they fall to the ground as rain.

4. Hail What is hail? • Hail mainly occurs in the summer and in the spring, when there are strong currents of wind. • Hail forms within giant thunderclouds. • The air currents are very different, so the water particles in the cloud freeze. • It begins to grow in size, and when too heavy, falls to the ground (sometimes melting on its way).

5. Snow How does snow form? • Snow forms when there are crystals in thick clouds. • As they fall through the clouds, these tiny crystals become bigger flakes. • If the air is cold outside of the cloud, the precipitation remains a flake of snow. • If it is not quite cold enough, it becomes a mixture of snow and rain by the time it reaches the ground.