Rain an occluded front, with thunderstorms possible, but usually their passage is associated with a drying of the air mass. Occluded fronts usually form around mature low-pressure areas. What separates rainfall from other precipitation types, such as ice pellets and snow, is the presence of a thick layer of air aloft which is above the melting point of water, which melts the frozen precipitation well before it reaches the ground. If there is a shallow near surface layer that is below freezing, freezing rain (rain which freezes on contact with surfaces in subfreezing environments) will result. Hail becomes an increasingly infrequent
Snow dance in a row. All of these superstitions are to help influence the temperature to drop and for snow to fall. The Snow Dance, which is meant to summon snow, contrasts the Native American tradition of ushering in rain through what is called the rain dance. Although the Snow Dance is typically performed to invite a type of weather appreciated mainly for its beauty and the fun to be had in it, the success and failure of the rain dance is a matter of survival. Due to prolonged periods of drought in the southwestern United States, the tradition formed as an