Science Common Sense
909 - What causes different types of weather, like rain, snow, and wind?
Different types of weather like rain, snow, and wind are caused by the way the air in the Earth's atmosphere moves and changes. Here's a simple explanation:
Rain: When the air in the atmosphere gets warm and wet, the water in it turns into tiny water droplets. As more and more water droplets form, they stick together to create clouds. When the clouds get too heavy, the water droplets fall to the ground as rain.
Snow: Snow is similar to rain, but the air in the atmosphere is much colder. The water droplets in the clouds freeze into tiny ice crystals, which stick together to form snowflakes. When the snowflakes get too heavy, they fall to the ground as snow.
Wind: Wind is created when there's a difference in air pressure between two places. Air always moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. As the air moves, it creates a flow of air, or wind.
These changes in the atmosphere are caused by the Earth's movement and the way the sun heats the air. So, the way the air moves and changes in the atmosphere determines what kind of weather we get.