Is rain typically snow that has melted on the way down?

Question

Just curious.

I live in a lower elevation, work in a higher elevation and see it raining in the valley and snowing in the mountains on a regular basis, so I'm just curious.

Answer 1

Depends on the conditions in the upper parts of the atmosphere. If its cold enough for snow in the upper part of the troposphere (the weather part), but warm in the bottom part near the ground...then yes rain is snow thats melted. But if its warm enough period, rain is rain.

Answer 2

No. Rain and snow form in different ways.

Rain will form with higher humidity and in + temperatures and forms a drop. Although the raindrop can cool to - temperatures to become a super cooled drop or ice before falling to earth, it cannot be a snow flake.

Snow will form with lower temperatures and usually less humidity. The temperature will be below zero, causing a crystallized flake to form instead of a drop. The snowflake can melt on the way down to form rain, but this is not very common.

Answer 3

In most northern (or southern) latitudes, yes. Cloud tops freeze, snow forms and begins to fall, but begins to melt, and eventually forms water droplets which lead to rain. In the tropics, however, there is so much moisture that rain can (and does) form directly, without freezing cloudtops.

Answer 4

Yes, rain always starts out as snow or ice because typicaly the temperatures in the upper atmosphere are in the negatives, therefor all rain starts out frozen.

Answer 5

I think it's the other way around; rain can turn into snow if it's cold enough (i.e. it starts out as rain)

Answer 6

Or snow could be rain that has frozen all the way up.

Answer 7

Usually, snow is rain that freezes on the way down.

some snow freezes in the cloud formation.

When rain freezes as it falls it usually forms hail.

Answer 8

no, because snow and rain form in different ways.

Answer 9

Rain is evaporated water. Snow is evaporation that has become colder. Look it up your self, re.

Answer 10

Yes.