This book introduces how different types of precipitation form and the dangers and benefits they provide. Readers will learn how fast-moving molecules escape bodies of water through evaporation, how air rises, how the dew point affects condensation and the formation of clouds, and how cloud droplets grow and become heavy enough to fall as precipitation. Other chapters highlight raindrop shapes, hailstorms and the layers that form when hail circulates in strong updrafts, the difference between sleet and freezing rain, and snowflake formation with a sidebar on snowflake shapes. Measuring precipitation using rain gauges and snow courses, how water moves across the earth from the ocean to clouds to the ground and back again, accompanied by a diagram of the hydrologic cycle, and precipitation extremes, including flash floods and droughts, are also discussed. Clear, helpful diagrams, full-color photographs, bold glossary words, and an index support this easy-to-read, engaging text.