SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
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DISCOVER 51
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Hail
Forms when ice pellets
move up and down in the
warm and cold drafts,
growing larger as they
gain layers of ice.
Sleet
Rain that freezes into
ice pellets while falling
through cold air.
Snow
Forms from ice crystals
that merge in clouds.
Freezing Rain
Rain that freezes when
it hits the ground or
other surfaces.
Rain and Drizzle
Form from water droplets
or ice crystals that melt
as they fall.
Anatomy of a Storm
Weather happens in the lower level of
our atmosphere, called the troposphere.
There, rising warm air (an updraft) cools
as it gets higher, causing the moisture it
holds to condense into droplets — rain.
Cool air sinks (a downdraft) and spreads
out as it hits the ground, creating the wind
you often feel as a storm approaches.
This warm-cold clash also happens when
pockets of different temperatures meet,
called a front.
Warm updraft
Cold downdraft
Stratosphere
Troposphere