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precipitation
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rain shaft
A large window looking at a forested exterior, four hand-drawn blue raindrops, and a hand holding a phone displaying a pie chart showing a 60% chance of partly cloudy skies, and a 40% chance of rain.
How do clouds float?
frozen precipitation
How do snowflakes form?
Learn the role of tiny impurities like salt, dirt, soot, or a grain of clay in the formation of raindrops
What is cloud seeding and can it be used to fight climate change?
orographic lift North America: average annual precipitation Distribution of peoples and annual rainfall in the Guinea Coast region. The northern boundary of the 500-mm isohyet (a line on a map connecting points experiencing the same rainfall amount) approximates the maximum advance of the West African summer monsoon.
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Umbrella colored like a rainbow sticking out above a sea of black umbrellas while it rains. (storm, weather)
Weather Words Vocabulary Quiz
water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)
Water and its Varying Forms
rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops
April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs
Thunderstorm cumulonimbus clouds above Montana. weather storm thunderstorm atmospheric disturbance cumulonimbus clouds thunder and lightning Homepage blog 2011, science and technology
Clouds and Cloud Types
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Photos and Videos

rain shaft
frozen precipitation
orographic lift
North America: average annual precipitation
Distribution of peoples and annual rainfall in the Guinea Coast region. The northern boundary of the 500-mm isohyet (a line on a map connecting points experiencing the same rainfall amount) approximates the maximum advance of the West African summer monsoon.
precipitation, annual; Europe
Global distribution of mean annual rainfall (in centimetres).
projected changes in mean precipitation
Graph depicting the influence of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on rainfall produced by the Indian summer monsoon. During years when ENSO is active, monsoon-driven precipitation over India often declines.
Graph of monsoon rainfall in India, 1871–1981. Annual rainfall amounts are depicted as percentages departing from the 110-year average. The red line superimposed on the graph suggests a recurring trend over this time period.
A large window looking at a forested exterior, four hand-drawn blue raindrops, and a hand holding a phone displaying a pie chart showing a 60% chance of partly cloudy skies, and a 40% chance of rain.
How do clouds float?
How do snowflakes form?
Learn the role of tiny impurities like salt, dirt, soot, or a grain of clay in the formation of raindrops
What is cloud seeding and can it be used to fight climate change?
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Vincent Joseph Schaefer
American chemist and meteorologist
Tor Harold Percival Bergeron
Scandinavian meteorologist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops
April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs
Umbrella colored like a rainbow sticking out above a sea of black umbrellas while it rains. (storm, weather)
Weather Words Vocabulary Quiz
Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree
Facts You Should Know: Weather Quiz
water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)
Water and its Varying Forms
Thunderstorm cumulonimbus clouds above Montana. weather storm thunderstorm atmospheric disturbance cumulonimbus clouds thunder and lightning Homepage blog 2011, science and technology
Clouds and Cloud Types
Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)
Winter Weather Words Quiz