- Hail is the result of strong thunderstorms.wiese mit hagelk??rnern image by henryart from Fotolia.com
Hail comes from strong thunderstorms. These thunderstorms have powerful updrafts that carry drops of water to clouds high in the atmosphere, where the air is freezing. The drops of water connect with other drops of water, freeze, grow larger and fall back to earth as hail. - Water drops that fall through a freezing layer of air next to earth's surface make sleet,SONY DSC image by Artem Nowicki from Fotolia.com
When a below-freezing layer of air, on earth, has a layer of warmer air above it, the system can produce sleet. On their way to earth, water drops fall through the warm air into the freezing air, and freeze as they fall. They reach earth's surface as sleet. - Drops of water in the atmosphere connect with other drops, become too big for the air to support, and fall to earth as rain.rain drops image by mateo from Fotolia.com
Drops of water in the clouds connect with other drops, grow bigger then fall to the earth as rain. The measurement for rainfall is in units of liquid water. The measurement for all forms of precipitation corresponds with units of liquid water. - Water drops that fall through freezing air, from the clouds to the earth, reach earth's surface as snow.snow on trees image by hazel proudlove from Fotolia.com
Freezing air sometimes extends from the clouds to earth's surface. The droplets of water freeze as they fall and reach the earth as snow. - Water drops connect with pollutants in the atmosphere and bring them to earth as acid rain.rain image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
When snow or rain falls through air polluted with acid chemicals, the precipitation mixes with the pollutants, and carries them to the surface of the earth.
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