What makes rain and what makes snow?

Answer 1

Sarcastic answer: Weather...

Realistic answer: a combination of factors including humidity, presence of "seed" in the air, and air pressure.

Generally, ice crystals begin to form in humid air around "seed" particles (typically dust). The crystals continue to build in size until they are too massive to remain aloft. The crystals fall through the cloud, and depending on the temperature, arrive on the ground as either big fluffy flakes or wet splashy rain. Almost all rain actually starts as snow, but melts as it falls. How warm the rain is when it hits depends on where the thermocline in the atmosphere is, the closer to the ground, the cooler the rain water.

Answer 2

Condensed water vapor. Air at any given temperature can only hold so much water; when the amount of the water in the air reaches the saturation point (in weather usually called the dew point) you will get precipitation, usually as rain if it's warm enough or snow if it's cold enough. You can also see hail if you get a cloud with a high base that allows for hail formation, or sleet/freezing rain/ice if the temperature is right around the freezing point.

Answer 3

the short answer is that rain is made when the atmosphere is saturated. Therefore, it has to go somewhere, and rain droplets get formed. Snow is made by cold air forming ice crystals in a saturated atmosphere.

Try the website www.howstuffworks.com and see if that helps (I don't know if it's still up, as it's been years since I looked at it).

Answer 4

water from bodies of water evaporate, then freeze or rains back down, this cycle goes on forever

Answer 5

Differences in temperature.

Answer 6

mother nature