Hydrometeor

A snow cannon blows snow into the atmosphere

The term hydrometeor is the generic term used in meteorological terminology for all forms of condensed water that can be observed on the earth's surface or in the atmosphere. The name is derived from "Hydro", ancient Greek ὕδωρ [ hýdor ] for "water", and " Meteor ", from the ancient Greek μετέωρος [metéōros] , "floating in the air". Other solid and liquid components of the atmosphere, such as electrometeors , lithometeors or photometeors , in the composition of which water plays no role or at least almost no role, are called aerosols .

Phenomena

See also the hydrometeor category

The hydrometeors include:

• Grains of ice (cloud ice)
• Sleet
• Hailstones
• Raindrops
• snowflakes

and their mixed forms such as melting hailstones.

Clouds , rain and other precipitation are collections of (usually quite a lot) hydrometeors.

The difference between rain and cloud droplets is only their size and the associated speed of their fall. Cloud droplets are so small that they can be kept in suspension by even very weak updrafts (falling speeds of a few centimeters per second, diameter below 0.1 mm).

Accumulations of hydrometeors are, for example, damp haze , spray , contrails , fog , drizzle , rain , snow sweeps , clouds .

Web links

• Deutscher Wetterdienst - Glossary - Hydrometeors

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hydrometeor. American Meteorological Society (AMS), accessed April 11, 2017.