Precipitation WebQuest

Name: ______Date: ______

  1. What are the 5 main types of precipitation?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
  6. ______
  7. Click on Rain and Hail. What are two ways rain can form?
  8. Hail is a large ______produced by intense ______. As the snowflakes fall, ______water freezes onto them forming ______. Upon reaching the bottom of the cloud, some of the ice pellets are carried by the ______back up to the ______.
  9. Each time an ice pellet falls through the cloud, another ______is added and the ______grows even larger.
  10. How do really large hail stones grow?
  1. What causes a hail stone to finally fall to the ground?
  2. Click the arrow that takes you to Freezing Rain. What is freezing rain?
  1. Take a look at the Temperature of Environment diagram.
  2. How does freezing rain begin its descent?
  3. It then encounters a layer of ______deep enough for the snow to completely ______and become ______.
  4. As the rain continues to fall, it passes through a ______of ______just above the surface and cools to a temperature just ______.
  5. The drops do NOT freeze; instead, they become ______which strike the frozen ground. They instantly ______, forming a thin film of ______.
  6. Click on the arrow that takes you to Dangers. Why is freezing rain so dangerous?
  7. Visibility:
  8. Sidewalks:
  9. Roads:
  10. Power and telephone lines:
  11. Trees (environment)
  12. Livestock
  13. Birds
  14. Where can freezing rain occur in the US?
  15. Why does it usually NOT occur west of the Rockies?
  16. Click on the arrow to take you to Processes.
  17. Ice Crystal Processes:
  18. The precipitation begins as ______. As the snow falls, it encounters a layer of ______where snow and ice particles ______and collapse into ______.
  19. As the raindrops approach the ground, they encounter a layer of ______and cool to temperatures below freezing. However, since the cold layer is so ______, the drops themselves do not ______. The ______are colder than 0˚C and ______when they strike the ground.
  20. Supercooled Warm-Rain Processes:
  21. Less common. Cloud temperatures are greater than ______.
  22. The precipitation falls to the surface as ______or drizzle and freezes instantly on contact.
  23. Why don’t the supercooled raindrops not freeze in the cold layer?
  24. In another window, you may want to check out:
  25. On the left hand side of your window, click on “Sleet” under “Precipitation.” What is sleet?
  26. The Temperature of Environment diagram shows that sleet begins as ______, then the snow begins to ______and then the partially frozen drops ______.
  27. Sleet is similar to freezing rain in that it causes surfaces to become very slick, but it is different because ______.
  28. Click the arrow to go to “Snow.” What is snow?
  29. The temperature of Environment diagram shows that snow occurs when air temperature is ______.
  30. Since the snowflakes do NOT pass through a layer of air ______to cause them to ______, they remain in tact and reach the ground as ____.

Now go to

Mouse over the arrows and describe how each type of precipitation forms:

Rain:

Freezing Rain:

Sleet:

Snow:

Now describe why in the cold weather, why isn’t the precipitation always snow if the temperatures are below freezing?