When we get together with too many other raindrops, the cloud will get heavy and we will start to fall through the air as rain or snow (and sometimes hail or sleet). This is precipitation. After changing to a solid state of matter, ice, we come back to earth up in the mountains as a snowflake.
What causes precipitation?
"When clouds develop or precipitation occurs, something is making the air rise. When air rises it expands and gets colder and since colder air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air, the water condenses to form clouds and sometimes rain or ice or snow!
Several things can make the air rise...Mountains for one! Most blobs of air do not carry shovels with them so they have to go over mountains instead of through them! Cold fronts can cause air to rise as well. Even the jet stream can cause air to rise.
Most precipitation is caused by a combination of different processes causing the air to rise."
