Precipitation types the preceding adjective "freezing", becoming known as freezing rain or freezing drizzle. Frozen forms of precipitation include snow, ice needles, sleet, hail, and graupel. Their respective intensities are classified either by rate of fall, or by visibility restriction. Precipitation falls in many forms, or phases. They can be subdivided into: The parenthesized letters are the METAR codes for each phenomenon. Precipitation occurs when local air becomes saturated with water vapor, and can no longer maintain the level of water vapor in gaseous form. This occurs when less dense moist air cools, usually when an airmass rises through the atmosphere. However,
Types of snow terms for falling snow: Types of snow Types of snow can be designated by the shape of its flakes, description of how it is falling, and by how it collects on the ground. A blizzard and snow storm indicate heavy snowfalls over a large area, snow squalls give heavy snowfalls over narrow bands, while flurries are used for the lightest snowfall. Types which fall in the form of a ball, rather than a flake, are known as graupel, with sleet and snow grains as types of graupel. Once on the ground, snow can be categorized as powdery when fluffy, granular