Precipitation Types

Freezing Rain

Freezing Rain thankfully is very rare in the UK. Freezing rain occurs when warm air moves above cold air normally at the end of the a cold spell. For freezing rain to occur a layer of warm air pushes over sub zero air at the surface. Snow falling through this turns to rain and then falls through the sub zero air turning to ice on contact with the ground or other cold objects.

The following pictures show freezing rain on a branch while the second picture shows the process of the formation of freezing rain

Rain

There are three main types of Rain.

Frontal rain: This occurs along frontal troughs associated with low pressure systems where warm less dense air is forced upwards forcing water vapour to condense and fall as rain.

Orographic rain: This is produced when clouds formed are from the topography of the landscape when moist air is forced upwards forming condensation and rainfall as a result.

Convective rain due to convective clouds forming in unstable air. You can see this on warm days where moisture rises eventually cooling and forming clouds and eventually rainfall. This is more common in the east and South of the UK. Such showers can be fairly localized and won’t effect such a large area such as frontal rain.