Which precipitation occurs when ice crystals fall and stay frozen because the outside temperature remains below freezing?

Which precipitation occurs when ice crystals fall and stay frozen because the outside temperature remains below freezing?

• A. Rain
• B. Sleet
• C. Hail
• D. Snow

Answer: (D)

Snow happens when ice crystals form in clouds and stay frozen all the way down to the ground because the surrounding air remains below freezing. In the clouds, water vapor crystallizes into ice, and those crystals grow into snowflakes. If the air from the cloud to the surface stays cold, there’s no melting, so the precipitation reaches the ground as solid ice crystals or clumped snow. Think about why the other types don’t fit this scenario: rain is liquid water that only remains liquid if the air is above freezing, so the crystals would melt. Sleet involves melting into raindrops in a warm layer and then refreezing into ice pellets before reaching the ground. Hail forms in strong thunderstorms with updrafts that repeatedly lift and freeze droplets, not simply from cold air all the way down.

Snow happens when ice crystals form in clouds and stay frozen all the way down to the ground because the surrounding air remains below freezing. In the clouds, water vapor crystallizes into ice, and those crystals grow into snowflakes. If the air from the cloud to the surface stays cold, there’s no melting, so the precipitation reaches the ground as solid ice crystals or clumped snow.

Think about why the other types don’t fit this scenario: rain is liquid water that only remains liquid if the air is above freezing, so the crystals would melt. Sleet involves melting into raindrops in a warm layer and then refreezing into ice pellets before reaching the ground. Hail forms in strong thunderstorms with updrafts that repeatedly lift and freeze droplets, not simply from cold air all the way down.