Snowfall and Rainfall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Snowfall and Rainfall - Essay Example The author of the paper states that rainfall may be defined as falling drops of water that is greater than 0.02 in diameter, precipitated by the process of condensation and falling in an area steadily over a period of time. Snowfall, on the other hand, may be defined as falling ice composed of complex hexagonal forms that are converted from water to ice directly by the process of deposition. Rainfall and snowfall may be differentiated based on the precipitation process, forms, temperature conditions, and atmospheric limitations.  Rainfall is a form of liquid precipitation unlike other forms of precipitation such as snow, hail or frost. When water on the earth surface is heated above the melting point, it gets evaporated and rises in the air as vapor. On reaching higher altitudes of the atmosphere, the vapor begins to cool down, resulting in precipitation. When these droplets of vapor which are dispersed in the atmosphere combine and accumulate, becoming heavy enough to fall, they c ause rain. In contrast to the precipitation of rainfall, snowfall occurs when the temperature is below freezing point. They take the form of crystalline structures that precipitate as snowflakes from the clouds. They can take different crystalline or granular forms and are usually soft in nature unless packed by external pressure. Snow crystals are formed from supercooled water droplets, that form an ice lattice around the water droplet, caused by very low temperatures.  Rain is the liquid form of H2O, while snow is a solidified form, which according to the definition, is a mineral of the homogeneous form of natural origin having an inorganic origin and definite chemical composition. Rain can take up forms that vary in the size of the water droplets or the pressure that accompanies it. The size of water droplets varies from 0.2 to 0.6, while the rate of water droplets can vary from 0.10 inch to 0.30 inch an hour which may be either light rain or heavy rain. (usatoday.com). Snowfal l can be classified into forms on the basis of the crystal structure that it precipitates into or the rate of accumulation. Snow can be in the form of flakes, crystals, grains or pellets.