Definition of reservoir. 1 : a place where something is kept in store: such asa : an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for useb : a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is heldc : supply, store a large reservoir of educated people.
Four types of winter precipitation. While all forms of precipitation start as snow high up in the clouds, there are four primary types that eventually reach the ground: snow, sleet, freezing rain and plain ol' rain. Snow occurs when the atmosphere is cold all the way from the clouds to down here at the surface.
Imagine a drop or flake falling through a long tube that contains the air between the clouds and the Earth. The air inside the imaginary tube is the atmosphere. Differences in temperatures in different parts of the atmosphere account for the differences we see between snow, sleet, and freezing rain. The liquid precipitation that falls to Earth's surface is rain. Rain can begin as snow, but by the time it reaches the Earth's surface, it has melted because the temperature closer to Earth is warmer.