Requirement 5 of 12

Wind, Rain, Lightning, and Hail

Explain what causes wind, why rain happens, and how lightning and hail form.

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Requirement 5 discussion guide

Use these notes to explain several basic processes behind weather and storms.

Weather formation

Key ideas

  • Wind is caused by air moving from areas of higher pressure toward areas of lower pressure.
  • Rain forms when water vapor cools, condenses into droplets, and those droplets grow heavy enough to fall.
  • Lightning forms when electrical charges build up inside storms and then discharge.
  • Hail forms when strong storm updrafts carry raindrops into very cold parts of a storm where they freeze and grow in layers.

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