Storm snow is a type of precipitation

Atmospheric precipitation is an important link in the water cycle on Earth. They precipitate out of the air or fall out of the clouds. They represent water in various states (solid or liquid).

By the nature of deposition are divided into three types - drizzling, hard and stormy.

In the first case, precipitation occurs both in negative and positive temperatures. It can be small droplets of water, as if floating in the air, or white solid particles (up to 2 mm in diameter), the so-called "snow grains". Fall out in a small area, lasting no more than half an hour.

Complex sediments are formed under the influence of warm fronts. They are always long (up to two days), uniform, begin and end gradually, no special changes in the intensity of deposition are observed.

With the predominance of cold fronts, it is possible to observe rainfall. They start suddenly and unexpectedly end, and also sharply change the intensity of the oscillations. Can last from a few minutes to 2 hours. One of their types is heavy snow.

general information

Storm snow is abundant solid precipitation, which falls out of cumulonimbus (dense) clouds, mainly in the cold season. It usually lasts not too long, up to 1-2 hours (more often up to half an hour). It evaporates fairly quickly, because it has a low density.

To the question: "Storm snow: what is it and how is it formed?", It is possible to answer in the following way. The layers of the atmosphere in which clouds form are at a temperature of -5, -7 degrees, and because of insufficient heat near the earth (in order to pass a heavy rain) and this natural phenomenon occurs.

Snowflakes it, as a rule, have an average or small size. They gather together and fall down in flakes, quickly forming a high layer on the ground.

There is also a weak snow storm. What is this precipitation and what distinguishes it? The answer is quite simple: in this case the intensity decreases, and the snow flakes seem "dry". It lasts no more than one hour.

Snow storm is dangerous or not?

This kind of precipitation usually leads to a decrease in horizontal visibility. If in clear weather the visual survey is from 6 to 10 km, then during the snowfall it decreases to 2-4 km, and sometimes to 100-500 meters, depending on the intensity. In such weather conditions it is necessary to be particularly careful on the roads, as the risk of road accidents increases.

Storm snow is one of the most dangerous meteorological phenomena, in which precipitation reaches 20 mm for a period of up to 12 hours.

It can also be accompanied by strong gusts of wind, which turns into a strong blizzard. In such cases it is better to refrain from staying in the open air.

Storm snow is a phenomenon that ends as sharply as it began. In clear weather it is usually replaced by a bright sun.

Mixed precipitation

To create snow or rain, different temperature conditions are needed. However, mixed precipitation sometimes falls on the ground. One type is heavy snow with rain. You can observe it more often in the autumn or in the spring.

In composition, it is a mixture of drops of water and snowflakes. When they hit the surface of the earth, these precipitates melt at a plus temperature, and freeze when frozen, forming a layer of ice (ice).

Another type of mixed rainfall is heavy snow. It is usually distinguished as a separate weather phenomenon. It falls out at a positive air temperature and is a large flake of snow, melting before it touches the ground.

Icy rain and heavy snow - is it the same or not?

These terms, like the weather phenomena themselves , are very different, but sometimes they are all the same confused. Most often this is due to the synonyms of the words "rain" from the first title and the word "downpour" from the second. To remember that this is not the same, it is necessary to understand what is the icy rain.

It is attributed to complex types of precipitation, and it occurs at a negative temperature, down to -15 degrees. It lasts, as a rule, quite a long time, without changing its intensity. Frozen rain - a solid, transparent white color pieces of ice, inside of which there is water in a liquid state.

When it hits the ground, it leads to ice as well as wet snow storms. Photos of these natural phenomena can be easily found in this article.