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What happens inside a cloud?
Micro-scale Processes - Rain, Hail or Snow? The liquid water content of a cloud and how far above the surface temperatures reach 0 C both play a major role in determining whether rain, hail, or snow will fall to the ground. In clouds with low liquid water content, like nimbostratus, ice crystals form and grow via vapor diffusion. The crystals can grow into snow flakes. Depending on how far above the surface the 0 C line is, either snow or rain will reach the ground. In clouds with high liquid water content, like cumulonimbus, ice crystals grow through riming. They can eventually grow to graupel and hail. Again, it depends on the size of the hailstones in the cloud and the height of the 0 C temperature level as to whether rain or hail will reach the surface. If the air beneath the cloud is very dry, the precipitation from the cloud can evaporate before reaching the ground. This is called virga. Next page -> Cloud-scale processes Links and resources
Micro-scale Processes - Rain, Hail or Snow? The liquid water content of a cloud and how far above the surface temperatures reach 0 C both play a major role in determining whether rain, hail, or snow will fall to the ground. In clouds with low liquid water content, like nimbostratus, ice crystals form and grow via vapor diffusion. The crystals can grow into snow flakes. Depending on how far above the surface the 0 C line is, either snow or rain will reach the ground. In clouds with high liquid water content, like cumulonimbus, ice crystals grow through riming. They can eventually grow to graupel and hail. Again, it depends on the size of the hailstones in the cloud and the height of the 0 C temperature level as to whether rain or hail will reach the surface. If the air beneath the cloud is very dry, the precipitation from the cloud can evaporate before reaching the ground. This is called virga. Next page -> Cloud-scale processes Links and resources
