On a hot summer day, a town, city or region is warmed by the rays of the sun. The temperature of the air over this town, city or #region rises above the surrounding countryside. The warm air rises and its place is taken by cooler air. The cooler air is warmed in its turn. Gradually, the rising air gets cooler. Finally, it reaches the saturation point. The #water vapour in the air then condenses and a #cloud is formed. When the #clouds are full of condensed water vapour, the sky fills with clouds, which become heavier and darker. Soon after, drops of rain come splashing down on the ground, trees, and buildings. If the #weather is really cold, snow or a mixture of snow and rain called sleet, falls instead. At other times, the moisture may freeze completely to form #pellets or even balls of ice, called hail. The process described above is known as precipitation. #Rain, #snow, #sleet and #hail are various forms of precipitation-liquid or solid water coming from high in the atmos