The water cycle is an essential process that starts with the formation of rainwater.
Rainwater is an essential part of life, and without it, life on Earth would cease to exist. Rainwater is formed by a relatively complex system known as the water cycle. Rainfall can be seen on pretty much any part of the globe. Rain and other forms of precipitation from the water cycle contributes to 71 percent of the total amount of water volume on Earth.
Formation
Rain droplets begin to form through the water cycle process. Water from the ocean evaporates and rises into the Earth's atmosphere. Plants that undergo transpiration (the process in which leaves sweat, creating vapor that ascends into the atmosphere) bring more moisture into the air. The combination of ocean water and plant vapor creates condensation--or the process in which vapor changes back into water. It is these small water droplets that collect together to form clouds. As the cloud expands in size and proportion, the water particles begin to rapidly bang into each other, sticking together to form even bigger water drops. As the water drops get heavier, gravity pulls them down, creating larger droplets that hit the ground.
Types of Rainwater
Rainwater is a type of precipitation, which is defined by the U.S. Geological Survey as water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow or hail. When water precipitates, it can come in different shapes, sizes and forms of intensity. Drizzle is very small rain droplets that are uniformly dispersed. Drizzle normally falls from low stratus clouds accompanied by low visibility and fog. Moderate rainwater falls heavier than drizzle and usually at the rate of 11 inches to 30 inches per hour. Heavy rainwater is larger droplets that fall about 30 inches or more per hour.
Freezing Rainwater
Rainwater that falls, but freezes upon hitting the ground is called freezing rain. As the rainwater hits the ground--which is generally below freezing temperatures--the water droplets immediately freeze over, appearing as a coating of glaze. Rainwater that comes from cumulonimbus clouds falls in large raindrops. During strong wind updrafts, rainwater that drops up above the freezing level in the clouds freezes and is heavy enough to drop. According to FAQ Kids, when rainwater falls under these conditions, rain freezes to form large ice balls known as hail, or smaller ice pellets known as sleet. Extreme cold weather rainwater forms snowflakes. The University of Texas says, "Snow is produced in supercooled clouds when water vapor is deposited as ice crystals that remain frozen during its descent down to the ground, which goes through several layers of sub-freezing air."
Environmental Benefits
Rainwater produced from the water cycle helps to regulate climate and temperature changes throughout the Earth's atmosphere. Rainwater provides steady hydration that is the main source of survival for all plants and animals. Rainwater also reduces equator heat and disperses it throughout the rest of the planet. Without rainwater, Earth would be uninhabitable. Rainwater is needed to regulate all life cycles.
Drinking Rainwater
Rainwater is what humans, animals and plants need to survive. Drinking water comes from rainwater, which comes from ocean and groundwater. Groundwater comes from rainwater that penetrates into ground or sedimentary rock. According to the American Ground Water Trust, "all ground water is slowly on the move and will eventually reach the ocean, wetland streams or lake. Rivers receive about half their flow from ground water." Ground water can be up to a thousand years old, and U.S. groundwater can be up to a few months old before it is extracted as drinking water. Light rainwater won't penetrate the ground but rather, it will evaporate or get used up by plants.
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