| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Drizzle | Fine water droplets between 40 um and and 0.5 mm in diameter. Depending on the intensitiy of precipitation, both drizzle and rain can be classified as light, moderate, and heavy. |
| Rain | Falling water droplets that are usually between 0.5 mm and 5 mm in diameter. If a larger drop of rain forms, it usually breaks into pieces as it descends from the sky. |
| Freezing Rain | If raindrops are close to freezing and strike a cold object in close proximity or on the ground, the droplets freeze almost immediately. |
| Snow | Snow is usually formed when vapour crystallizes on miniscule particles of dust and other solid substances. Snow only forms when the air temperature, and thus, the water vapour, cools to below 0* Celsius. |
| Ice Pellets | Also known as sleet, ice pellets are a solid form of water. They form when snow falls through a warm layer of air, and then falls through air below 0* Celsius. The beads of ice that result from this procedure are so hard that they bounce of the ground when they strike it. |
| Hail | Solid form of water that is created in cumulonimbus clouds, very high in the troposphere. Frozen raindrops move down and up in active thunderclouds, growing larger each time an updraft raises them through cold water drops at immense altitudes. |
| Dew | Forms when air cools and the water vapour contained within it condenses on a cool/cold surface near the ground. If the surface is much too cold, the vapour sublimates, and the result is frost. On cold winter mornings, frost patterns might be seen on some glass surfaces, such as windows. |
| Precipitation | The water that reaches the ground in either liquid or solid form, depending on the circumstances. |
| Condensation | The process by which atmospheric water vapor liquefies to form fog, clouds, or the like, or solidifies to form snow or hail. |
| Evaporation | To produce vapor. |
| Transpiration | The passage of water through a plant from the roots through the vascular system to the atmosphere. |
| Rain Gauge | Apparatus for measuring the amount of precipitation garnered. |
| Run-Off | Precipitation water drained by streams and rivers |
| Ground Water | The water beneath the surface of the ground, consisting largely of surface water that has seeped down: the source of water in springs and wells. |
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