🌧️Words For Precipitation

Words for precipitation delivery systems. Taken from the Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, and Macmillan dictionaries, the Encyclopædia Britannica, The Bible, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Forrest Gump.

The Oxford English Dictionary makes no distinction between any type of precipitation and defines them all as:

"OED subscriptions for $100 in the US or £100 for the Rest of the World"

Smugly use the above definition the next time some know-it-all blabs some pencil-pusher requirement of an exact wind speed threshold for a blizzard after you've spent all day outside in one. Then contact the Oxford English Dictionary and ask them what the requirements are for noun capitalization.

Basic forms of precipitation also appear in other answers' clues out of necessity.

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Last updated: October 18, 2022

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First submitted	October 18, 2022
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Hint	Answer
Don't think overly hard on this one. Merriam: 1.a: a deposit on the earth of ____, ____, ____, ____, or ____ also : the quantity of water deposited	Precipitation
Macmillan: 1: a thick cloud that forms close to the ground or to water and is difficult to see through	Fog
Merriam: 1.a: water falling in drops condensed from vapor in the atmosphere 1.b: the descent of this water	Rain
Every definition because it's in the name: a single [unit] of rain is a ________.	Raindrop
Macmillan: 1: water in the form of particles floating or falling in the atmosphere at or near the surface of the earth and approaching the form of rain	Mist
NOAA, getting way too bureaucratic: Showery precipitation in the form of irregular pellets or balls of ice more than 5 mm in diameter, falling from a cumulonimbus cloud. Description / Diameter (inches) Pea 0.25 Marble or Mothball 0.50 Penny or Dime 0.75 Nickel 0.88 Quarter 1.00 Half Dollar 1.25 Walnut or Ping Pong Ball 1.50 Golfball 1.75 Hen's Egg 2.00 Tennis Ball 2.50 Baseball 2.75 Tea Cup 3.00 Grapefruit 4.00 Softball 4.50	Hail
Macmillan: 1: LITERARY: a severe storm with strong winds and heavy rain or snow English language idiom: "a _______ in a teapot"	Tempest
Macmillan [ignoring how commas are necessary in definitions]: 1: small soft white pieces of ice that fall from the sky and cover the ground	Snow
Cambridge: 1: rain in very small, light drops	Drizzle
NOAA: ...the water freezes on contact with the surface, creating a coating of ice on whatever the raindrops contact.	Freezing rain
Tropical rain season that brought Forrest Gump a plethora of well-defined rain types, such as sting-ing rain.	Monsoon
NOAA: intermittent light snowfall of short duration (generally light snow showers) with no measurable accumulation (trace category).	Flurries
Cambridge: B1: a short period of rain or snow	Shower
Cambridge: 1: a very light fall of rain or snow that lasts only a short time. "We got just a ________.”	Sprinkle
Macmillan: 1: a large amount of rain that comes down quickly	Downpour
Often used in adjective form with the above answer, a _______ial ________, or as "a _______ial rain" Merriam: 1.a: a violent or forceful flow of fluid 1.b: a heavy [above answer] of rain —usually used in plural "coming down in _______s"	Torrent
Colloquial misnomer. Britannica: a sudden, very heavy rainfall, usually local in nature and of brief duration. Most so-called __________s occur in connection with thunderstorms.	Cloudburst
Also common Trump supporter insult and unaware self-appellation by such. Macmillan: 2: a single piece of snow that falls from the sky	Snowflake
Britannica: (meteorology): severe weather condition that is distinguished by low temperatures, strong winds, and large quantities of either falling or blowing snow	Blizzard
Cambridge: a violent wind that has a circular movement, especially in the West Atlantic Ocean	Hurricane
Cambridge: a violent wind that has a circular movement, found in the West Pacific Ocean	Typhoon
Britannica: (meteorology): also called [previous answer] or [answer before that], an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.	Cyclone
Britannica: (pollution): precipitation possessing a pH of about 5.2 or below primarily produced from the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides...	Acid rain
Whatever. It all feels the same on your face. Macmillan: rain that freezes or partly freezes as it falls from the sky Cambridge: wet, partly melted falling snow	Sleet
NOAA: 2. In nautical use, a severe local storm considered as a whole, that is, winds and cloud mass and (if any) precipitation, thunder and lightning.	Squall
Merriam: 1.a: an overflowing of the land by water 1.b: a drenching rain The Bible, name for The Great Flood: Matthew 24:38 "At that time, before the ______, men were busy eating and drinking, taking wives or giving them, up to the very day when Noah entered the Ark"	Deluge

Level 87

Oct 18, 2022

Macmillan's #1 definition of "snowflake" is "EMOJI a light blue snowflake". Apparently the first way to define a word is with the word itself and a cartoon version of it.