Does all rain start as ice?

No. All precipitation starts as ice as the water at high altitudes freezes. Eventually, it will become too heavy to be sustained at that altitude and will start to fall. When it reaches a certain height it will melt and, then in winter, transform into snow flakes.

Does rain actually come from clouds?

Clouds are made of water droplets. Within a cloud, water droplets condense onto one another, causing the droplets to grow. When these water droplets get too heavy to stay suspended in the cloud, they fall to Earth as rain.

Can rain fall without clouds?

Because rain forms when droplets of condensed moisture grow large enough to descend quickly into the air, their absence can make it impossible for rain to occur. That means if there are no clouds overhead, rain cannot happen as well.

What falls from clouds as rain?

Precipitation is water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It is the primary connection in the water cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth. Most precipitation falls as rain.

Do rain drops start as ice?

Rain can also begin as ice crystals that collect each other to form large snowflakes. As the falling snow passes through the freezing level into warmer air, the flakes melt and collapse into rain drops.

Where does the rain originate from?

Rain is droplets of water that fall from clouds. Heat from the Sun turns moisture (water) from plants and leaves, as well as oceans, lakes, and rivers, into water vapour (gas), which disappears into the air. This vapour rises, cools, and changes into tiny water droplets, which form clouds.

Does rain come from the ocean?

A good bit of the rain that falls over land comes from the oceans. Sun-warmed water evaporates from the oceans and lakes. Plants “breathe out” water vapor as well. The water vapor then rises into the sky, where it condenses to form clouds.

Can there be rain without the sun?

Without the Sun there would be no water cycle, which means no clouds, no rain—no weather!”

Why does not all rain fall to the ground?

The water in the atmosphere cools and condenses into liquid droplets. The droplets grow bigger and heavier and fall to the Earth as precipitation. However, not all rain can reach the surface of the earth. Some evaporates while failing through dry air.

What is the correct term for frozen water that falls to the ground from clouds?

Precipitation
Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls to the Earth. It is one of the three main steps of the global water cycle.