1. Types of Precipitation
Jessica Wood

2. 5 types of precipitation
Rain
Snow
Freezing Rain
Sleet
Hail

3. Rain The most common type of precipitation in our atmosphere.
Takes one of two main forms: drizzles and showers
Drizzles- last much longer than showers, smaller droplets of water.
Showers- last just a brief period of time, large heavy drops

4. Snow
Forms when water vapor turns directly into ice without passing through a liquid state.
Takes the form of snow flakes or ice pellets.
If the Earth’s surface is cool enough then as the snow flakes fall to the ground they begin to pile up creating snow drifts.
Snow drifts can reach up to several feet high.

5. Sleet
A mixture of snow, rain, and rain droplets that freeze on their way down.
The rain droplets, unlike snow, pass through a liquid form before they freeze. This causes them not to be light and fluffy as snow.

6. Freezing Rain Sometimes referred to as Glaze.
Formed when water droplets become chilled.
These droplets do no freeze in the air. They freeze the moment they hit an object such as a road or a car.
This type of precipitation is the dangerous and messy. It can cause roads to be slippery and dangerous to drive on. It can also cause things to freeze such as car doors freezing shut.

7. Hail Formed between wind and moisture.
Ice crystals form within the clouds and begin to fall towards the earth.
As they fall, the wind gust picks up the ice crystals and carries them back into the clouds.
As they fall again, they grow larger in size.
Once again, the wind pushes the ice crystals back into the clouds.
Eventually the ice crystals get so large that the wind cannot carry them back into the clouds.
The ice crystals fall to the earth’s surface at an extremely large size.

8. Annual Precipitation rate for Mississippi.