| Term: | Precipitation |
| Definition: |
Measurements are usually made four times daily at principal stations. At ordinary sites they are usually made once or twice per day. Rainfall, snowfall and precipitation amounts given in the tables represent the average accumulation for a given month or year. CanadaNCA
Liquid or solid products of the condensation of water vapour that fall from clouds or are deposited from the air onto the surface. IHPGlacierMassBalance Hydrometeor consisting of a fall of an ensemble of particles. The forms of precipitation are: rain, drizzle, snow, snow grains, snow pellets, diamond dust, hail and ice pellets. WMOMeteoterm Precipitation is the term given to rain, drizzle, dew, hail, snow and other forms of moisture from the atmosphere which reaches the ground. AustraliaBoM (1) Liquid or solid products of the condensation or sublimation of water vapour falling from clouds or deposited from air on to the ground. (2) Amount of precipitation on a unit of horizontal surface per unit time. WMOHydrology 1. All liquid or solid phase aqueous particles that originate in the atmosphere and fall to the earth's surface. 2. The amount, usually expressed in millimeters or inches of liquid water depth, of the water substance that has fallen at a given point over a specified period of time. As this is usually measured in a fixed rain gauge, small amounts of dew, frost, rime, etc., may be included in the total. The more common term rainfall is also used in this total sense to include not only amounts of rain, but also the water equivalents of frozen precipitation. For obvious reasons, precipitation is the preferred general term. AMSglossary (1) Is any aqueous deposit, in liquid or solid form, that develops in a saturated atmosphere (relative humidity equals 100%) and falls to the ground generally from clouds. Most clouds, however, do not produce precipitation. In many clouds, water droplets and ice crystals are too small to overcome natural updrafts found in the atmosphere. As a result, the tiny water droplets and ice crystals remain suspended in the atmosphere as clouds. (2) The state of being precipitated from a solution. PhysicalGeography GCW |