It starts as ice or snow at cloud level then melts while falling through warmer air and remains in liquid form if the warm air extends to the earth's surface.
What is rain?
100
This term represents not the actual temperature but rather how the wind & cold feel to exposed skin.
These storms produce freezing rain that accumulates to 1/4" or more, causing dangerous driving conditions and power outages.
What is an Ice Storm?
200
These are 3 of the major sources of moisture for U.S. winter storms.
What are North Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico?
200
When temperatures are below freezing in all or most of the atmosphere from the cloud to the surface level, this precipitation forms 6-sided ice crystals.
What is snow?
200
This weather phenomena usually forms when cold, dry Canadian air moves South and interacts with warm, moist air moving North from the Gulf on Mexico.
This storm typically happens when the jet stream dips far to the south and is defined by 3 or more hours of sustained wind or wind gusts of 35mph or greater as well as falling and blowing snow with visibilities less than 1/4 of a mile.
What is a Blizzard?
300
This is the type of pressure system that can produce a winter storm.
What is a low pressure system?
300
This once liquid form of precipitation can freeze upon contact with cold surfaces after passing through a shallow layer of cold air near Earth's surface.
What is freezing rain?
300
Air blowing across a body of water to form clouds & precipitation is an excellent source of this component of a winter storm.
The Great Lakes region commonly sees this type of storm when a mass of very cold air moves over a body of warmer water and clouds build over the lake, developing snow showers as it moves downwind.
What is a Lake Effect snow?
400
This is the type of front a winter storm usually forms along.
What is a stationary front?
400
Sometimes known as "ice pellets", this starts as snowflakes, then melts into rain drops in a warm, thin layer of air, and then refreezes into ice particle when passing through sub-freezing air near the Earth's surface.
What is sleet?
400
This term means "something to raise moist air to form clouds & cause precipitation."
Considered the most ferocious of the winter storms, this phenomena has continuously strong northeasterly winds and is notorious for heavy snow, rain, & massive waves on Atlantic beaches.