Why It Rains and Snows

Look up at the sky

Have you ever stood by the window and watched the rain? Or caught a soft snowflake on your glove? Rain and snow both come from the clouds high up in the sky. Let us find out where they come from.

Clouds are made of water

A cloud may look like soft cotton wool, but it is not. A cloud is made of lots and lots of tiny water drops. The drops are so small and so light that they float in the air.

There is water in the air all around you, even when you cannot see it. When the air goes up high, it gets cold. The cold air turns the water into tiny drops. Lots of tiny drops together make a cloud.

You can see how the rain joins up with rivers and the sea in our lesson on the water cycle.

Why it rains

Inside a cloud, the tiny drops bump into each other. When they bump, they join up. They join again and again, and they grow bigger and bigger.

When a drop gets too big and heavy, the cloud can no longer hold it up. So down it falls! That is rain. Many heavy drops falling together make the rain we hear pitter-patter on the roof.

Rain is good for us. It gives a drink to the trees, the flowers and the grass. It fills up puddles for you to splash in. Animals drink it too.

Why it snows

Sometimes it does not rain. Instead, soft white snow floats down. Why?

Snow comes when the air is very, very cold. When it is that cold, the tiny drops of water in the cloud freeze. They turn into tiny pieces of ice called snowflakes.

Each snowflake is light and pretty, with little points like a star. The snowflakes drift down slowly and land softly on the ground. When lots of snow falls, it covers everything in white, like a soft blanket.

So here is the secret: rain and snow are both made of water from the clouds. When the air is warm, the water falls as rain. When the air is very cold, the water freezes and falls as snow.

What we wear

When it rains, we keep dry with a raincoat, boots and an umbrella. When it snows, we put on a warm coat, a hat, gloves and a scarf, because snow days are cold. Then we can go outside and have fun!

You can learn more about how the weather changes through the year in our lesson on the four seasons.

Activity: be a weather watcher

Let us watch the sky together!

1. Each morning, look out of the window with a grown-up.
2. Is the sky blue and sunny, grey and cloudy, or is it raining or snowing? Talk about what you see.
3. Draw a small picture for the day. Draw a sun, a cloud, raindrops or snowflakes.
4. Put your picture on a chart for the whole week.
5. At the end of the week, count. How many sunny days? How many rainy days? Which kind of weather did you see the most?

Watching the sky every day makes you a real weather watcher. Well done!