precipitation
Water from clouds
Precipitation is water falling from the sky—rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
The word also describes hasty action without adequate thought: The precipitation of his departure surprised everyone.
In chemistry, precipitation is the process by which a solid separates from a solution.
The verb precipitate covers all these: weather precipitates from clouds, rash decisions are precipitated by panic, and solids precipitate from liquids.
Water falling from clouds
- raindropsIndividual bits of precipitation
- downpourIntense precipitation event
- showersLight, passing rainfalls
- drizzleVery light precipitation
monsoon · deluge · cloudburst · thunderstorm · torrent · rainstorm · sprinkle · mist
Precipitation of frozen crystals
- flakesThin, flat pieces
- blizzardViolent prolonged snowstorm
- flurryBrief burst of activity
- powderFine dry particles
whiteout · snowstorm · frost · sleet · snowpack · snowdrift · snowmelt · accumulation
Frozen storm precipitation
- pelletsSmall compressed spheres
- graupelIce-coated snow pellets
- ice pelletsSmall frozen precipitation spheres
- sleetPartly frozen precipitation
frozen rain · thunderstorm · cumulonimbus · crop damage · dents · shelter · impact · ice storm
Liquid turning to gas
- condensationVapor turning to liquid
- water cycleContinuous planetary moisture movement
- transpirationBotanical water vapor release
- sublimationSolid to gas directly
run-off · infiltration · groundwater · watershed · catchment · aquifer · streamflow · snowmelt
Precipitation measurement device
- accumulationCollected mass over time
- inchesSmall length units
- millimetersMetric units, thousandths of meters
- radarRadio-wave object detection
doppler · forecast · weather station · annual rainfall · drought · monsoon season
rainfall
Water falling from clouds
- raindropsIndividual bits of precipitation
- downpourIntense precipitation event
- showersLight, passing rainfalls
drizzle · monsoon · deluge · cloudburst · thunderstorm · torrent · rainstorm · sprinkle · mist · petrichor
snowfall
Precipitation of frozen crystals
powder · whiteout · snowstorm · frost · sleet · snowpack · snowdrift · snowmelt · accumulation · snowplow
hailstones
Frozen storm precipitation
- pelletsSmall compressed spheres
- graupelIce-coated snow pellets
- ice pelletsSmall frozen precipitation spheres
sleet · frozen rain · thunderstorm · cumulonimbus · crop damage · dents · shelter · impact · ice storm · supercell
evaporation
Liquid turning to gas
- condensationVapor turning to liquid
- water cycleContinuous planetary moisture movement
- transpirationBotanical water vapor release
sublimation · run-off · infiltration · groundwater · watershed · catchment · aquifer · streamflow · snowmelt · cloud formation
rain gauge
Precipitation measurement device
- accumulationCollected mass over time
- inchesSmall length units
- millimetersMetric units, thousandths of meters
radar · doppler · forecast · weather station · annual rainfall · drought · monsoon season
- weather termssunny, rainy, cloudy, stormy, snowy
- Natural Processesphotosynthesis, decomposition, evaporation, erosion, carbon cycle
- weather datatemperature, humidity, rainfall, snowfall, wind speed
- weather forecastingforecast, forecasts, weather forecast, weather report, weather reports
- science experimentsvolcano model, elephant toothpaste, color change, slime making, baking soda volcano
- rainwaterrunoff, puddle, puddles, droplets, droplet
precipitationevaporation
Liquid turning to gas
dryness · drought · aridity · aridness · waterlessness
precipitationdeliberation
Careful weighing of choices
deliberateness · caution · prudence · circumspection · carefulness
- winter precipitationFrozen water from clouds
- frozen precipitationIce falling from sky
- mixed precipitationMultiple falling water forms
- precipitation mapVisual of falling moisture