what are the four main types of precipitation
sleet hail graupel snow drizzle rain
title: Precipitation text: Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel and hail. Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and "precipitates". Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the water vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated: cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air. Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with title: Precipitation text: of temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used form of the Köppen classification has five primary types labeled A through E. Specifically, the primary types are A, tropical; B, dry; C, mild mid-latitude; D, cold mid-latitude; and E, polar. The five primary classifications can be further divided into secondary classifications such as rain forest, monsoon, tropical savanna, humid subtropical, humid continental, oceanic climate, Mediterranean climate, steppe, subarctic climate, tundra, polar ice cap, and desert. Rain forests are characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between . A tropical savanna is a grassland biome located in semi-arid title: Precipitation types text: Precipitation types In meteorology, the various types of precipitation often include the character or phase of the precipitation which is falling to ground level. There are three distinct ways that precipitation can occur. Convective precipitation is generally more intense, and of shorter duration, than stratiform precipitation. Orographic precipitation occurs when moist air is forced upwards over rising terrain, such as a mountain. Precipitation can fall in either liquid or solid phases, or transition between them at the freezing level. Liquid forms of precipitation include rain and drizzle. Rain or drizzle which freezes on contact within a subfreezing air mass gains title: Precipitation types text: Heavy snowfall describes conditions when visibility is restricted below . Precipitation types In meteorology, the various types of precipitation often include the character or phase of the precipitation which is falling to ground level. There are three distinct ways that precipitation can occur. Convective precipitation is generally more intense, and of shorter duration, than stratiform precipitation. Orographic precipitation occurs when moist air is forced upwards over rising terrain, such as a mountain. Precipitation can fall in either liquid or solid phases, or transition between them at the freezing level. Liquid forms of precipitation include rain and drizzle. Rain or drizzle title: Precipitation types text: the preceding adjective "freezing", becoming known as freezing rain or freezing drizzle. Frozen forms of precipitation include snow, ice needles, sleet, hail, and graupel. Their respective intensities are classified either by rate of fall, or by visibility restriction. Precipitation falls in many forms, or phases. They can be subdivided into: The parenthesized letters are the METAR codes for each phenomenon. Precipitation occurs when local air becomes saturated with water vapor, and can no longer maintain the level of water vapor in gaseous form. This occurs when less dense moist air cools, usually when an airmass rises through the atmosphere. However,