frozen precipitation
Crystals from clouds
Frozen precipitation is the meteorological term for water vapor that falls from clouds in solid form rather than as liquid rain.
This includes snow, sleet, hail, and freezing rain—each distinguished by the atmospheric conditions that shape ice crystals or freeze water droplets during their descent.
Weather forecasters favor this clinical phrase when discussing winter storm systems: The region should expect three to five inches of frozen precipitation overnight.
- snowFrozen crystalline precipitation
- fresh powderNewly fallen, uncompacted snow
- cold frontIncoming cooler air mass
- sleetPartly frozen precipitation
- black iceInvisible frozen road surface
ice storm · graupel · hail · snowflakes · snow angel · white Christmas · snow day · frost · ice pellets · virga · deposition · avalanche · ice dams · diamond dust · rime · sublimation · temperature inversion · wind chill
frozen precipitationsummer rain
Precipitation in hot season
steam · monsoon · water vapor · evaporation
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