Hail, Rain, Freezing Rain, Sleet

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Hail Hail is a product of very intense thunderstorms. People commonly mistake hail for sleet but they each form under different conditions. Hail is rarely seen when the surface air temperature is below freezing. Rain Rain occurs when tiny cloud droplets collide to form bigger droplets. This keeps happening until the droplet is two heavy for the air to support it. The droplet then begins to fall, colliding with more cloud droplets as it gains in size Freezing Rain Freezing rain is probably the most dangerous type of precipitation. There is no noticeable difference between freezing rain and rain so people ignore the fact that is can cause such things as black ice on roadways. Freezing rain occurs when there is a shallow layer of air at the surface is above freezing air Sleet Sleet is nothing more than frozen raindrops. Sleet occurs when there is a warm layer of air above a relatively deep sub-freezing layer at the surface. Snow Snow occurs when the layer of the atmosphere from the surface of the earth through the cloud is entirely below freezing. Cirrus (Ci) Cirrus clouds are curly, featherlike and will often be the first clouds to appear in a clear, blue sky. Shape and moving of cirrus clouds can be an indication of strength and direction of high altitude winds. Stratus (St): Stratus clouds form a low layer that covers the sky like a blanket. They develop horizontally as opposed to the vertically developed cumulus cloud. They can form only a few meters above the ground. Cumulus (Cu) Cumulus clouds look like white balls of cotton wool. They are usually isolated with blue sky between the clouds, and they sometimes have funny forms.They have flat bases and lumpy

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