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Rain

When it rains, water falls from the sky. Rain is the most frequent form of precipitation. As opposed to frozen precipitation such as snow or hail, rain water is fluid. This mainly depends on the temperature that the environment has.

Clouds are the point of origin of rain, and clouds consist of very small drops of water. Depending on the predominant conditions in the clouds, among other things the degree of moisture, the drops can increase in size and then fall to the ground as a result of gravity.

If the rain only lasts for a few minutes it is referred to as a rain shower. Real rain can last longer. It is generally referred to as continuous or steady rain when it lasts for hours or even days.

Rain is the result of various things. One speaks of relief rainfall when the clouds collect in front of a mountain range and the rain falls so that the clouds become lighter and can traverse the mountain range. That is why areas that are situated in the shadow of the mountain get less rain than the areas that are in front of the mountain.

Confection rain occurs when warm air is saturated as a result of the condensation of large amounts of water, rises up and forms clouds as a result of the predominant colder temperatures. This rain can mainly be found in the tropics and subtropics, during the summer it can also be found in our areas. This kind of rain frequently is accompanied by a thunderstorm. According to the amount of moisture that the cloud
contains it can rain very heavily, even if only for a short period of time. Under certain conditions there can be hail.

The kind of rain that is referred to as front rain by experts occurs when warm and humid air masses hit cold air. The way it comes about is the equivalent of the relief rain because the warm air pushes itself over the cold air and in doing so is pushed upwards. The rain itself moves along with this front.

One speaks of strong rain when large amounts of rain fall within only a few minutes. Usually this happens in the tropics but it can also occur in more moderate zones. Aside from the damage that is done to the crops it can also entail basements flooding because the water cannot flow into the canalization quickly enough, causing the water to back up. This kind of rain can be limited to a small area and then is referred
to as downpour.

Drizzles and sprays can last for hours or for days. They consist of tiny droplets. There are special kinds of rain that occur in the tropics, for example the monsoon rain which can last a very long time and which is invaluable for the fertility of a country.