Rain occurs when very tiny water droplets coalesce around a nucleus particle (basically, a tiny speck of dust). Because of differences between the (weak) electric charge of the water vapour and the speck of dust, the two are attracted together. Once some water has glommed onto the nucleus, it becomes more attractive for other water vapour to merge with the tiny droplet.
Rain happens when the droplets get too big to stay suspended in clouds, and they fall out.
Hail starts out like rain. But typically it gets blown upwards (updrafts into cumulous clouds). the higher up you go, the colder the air is. The rain freezes, and then tumbles out the sides of the updrafts, falling on us as little chunks of ice.
Sleet is rain that almost freezes as it falls down; it can happen that clouds higher up are in warmer air than a cold front (mass of air) below.
Snow is tiny frozen particles of water vapour (ice) that coalesce together in the cloud before falling out of the clouds. If they melt on the way down, they become rain after all.
Rain happens when the droplets get too big to stay suspended in clouds, and they fall out.
Hail starts out like rain. But typically it gets blown upwards (updrafts into cumulous clouds). the higher up you go, the colder the air is. The rain freezes, and then tumbles out the sides of the updrafts, falling on us as little chunks of ice.
Sleet is rain that almost freezes as it falls down; it can happen that clouds higher up are in warmer air than a cold front (mass of air) below.
Snow is tiny frozen particles of water vapour (ice) that coalesce together in the cloud before falling out of the clouds. If they melt on the way down, they become rain after all.
