Precipitation
Geography: KS3, topic 5.1.6
Precipitation
Precipitation is not just rain! It includes snow, sleet, drizzle, hail, dew etc.
Types of precipitation
- In addition to rain, precipitation refers to snow, sleet, drizzle, hail, dew etc.
- The amount and duration of precipitation can affect events
- E.g. Wimbledon and Glastonbury Festival.
Measuring precipitation
- Meteorologists measure precipitation using a rain gauge.
- Rain is recorded in millimetres (mm) or even metres per hour, day, month or year.
Precipitation records
- A part of the Atacama desert in South America has received no rainfall in recorded history.
- A ridge called Crib Goch on Snowdon in Wales had the highest monthly total rainfall in December 2015 at 1,396.4 mm.
- La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean received 1,825 mm in 24 hours in 1966.
Meghalaya's precipitation
- Meghalaya is a state in Northeast India which has the highest rainfall in the world.
- Cherrapunj (a town in Meghalaya) once had more than nine metres of rain in a single month and more than 26 metres of rain in a single year.
Test yourself on Precipitation
What do meteorologists use to measure rain?
Part of which desert has never received any rainfall in recorded history?