Frontal activity

Main article: Weather fronts

Stratiform (a broad shield of precipitation with a relatively similar intensity)
and dynamic precipitation (convective precipitation which is showery in nature with
large changes in intensity over short distances) occur as a consequence of slow
ascent of air in synoptic systems (on the order of cm/s), such as in the vicinity
of cold fronts and near and poleward of surface warm fronts. Similar ascent is seen
around tropical cyclones outside the eyewall, and in comma-head precipitation
patterns around mid-latitude cyclones.[38]

A wide variety of weather can be found along an occluded front, with thunderstorms
possible, but usually, their passage is associated with a drying of the air mass.
Occluded fronts usually form around mature low-pressure areas.[39] What separates
rainfall from other precipitation types, such as ice pellets and snow, is the
presence of a thick layer of air aloft which is above the melting point of water,
which melts the frozen precipitation well before it reaches the ground. If there is
a shallow near-surface layer that is below freezing, freezing rain (rain which
freezes on contact with surfaces in subfreezing environments) will result.[40] Hail
becomes an increasingly infrequent occurrence when the freezing level within the
atmosphere exceeds 3,400 m (11,000 ft) above ground level.[41]

Convection
Diagram showing that as moist air becomes heated more than its surroundings, it
moves upward, resulting in brief rain showers.
Convective precipitation
Diagram showing how moist air over the ocean rises and flows over the land, causing
cooling and rain as it hits mountain ridges.
Orographic precipitation
Convective rain, or showery precipitation, occurs from convective clouds (e.g.,
cumulonimbus or cumulus congestus). It falls as showers with rapidly changing
intensity. Convective precipitation falls over a certain area for a relatively
short time, as convective clouds have limited horizontal extent. Most precipitation
in the tropics appears to be convective; however, it has been suggested that
stratiform precipitation also occurs.[38][42] Graupel and hail indicate convection.
[43] In mid-latitudes, convective precipitation is intermittent and often
associated with baroclinic boundaries such as cold fronts, squall lines, and warm
fronts.[44]

Orographic effects
Main articles: Orographic lift, Precipitation types (meteorology), and United
States rainfall climatology
Orographic precipitation occurs on the windward side of mountains and is caused by
the rising air motion of a large-scale flow of moist air across the mountain ridge,
resulting in adiabatic cooling and condensation. In mountainous parts of the world
subjected to relatively consistent winds (for example, the trade winds), a more
moist climate usually prevails on the windward side of a mountain than on the
leeward or downwind side. Moisture is removed by orographic lift, leaving drier air
(see katabatic wind) on the descending and generally warming, leeward side where a
rain shadow is observed.[16]

In Hawaii, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, on the island of Kauai, is notable for its extreme
rainfall, as it is amongst the places in the world with the highest levels of
rainfall, with 9,500 mm (373 in).[45] Systems known as Kona storms affect the state
with heavy rains between October and April.[46] Local climates vary considerably on
each island due to their topography, divisible into windward (Koʻolau) and leeward
(Kona) regions based upon location relative to the higher mountains. Windward sides
face the east to northeast trade winds and receive much more rainfall; leeward
sides are drier and sunnier, with less rain and less cloud cover.[47]
In South America, the Andes mountain range blocks Pacific moisture that arrives in
that continent, resulting in a desert-like climate just downwind across western
Argentina.[48] The Sierra Nevada range creates the same effect in North America
forming the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts.[49][50]

Within the tropics

Chart showing an Australian city with as much as 450 mm of rain in the winter
months and less than 50 mm in the summer.
Rainfall distribution by month in Cairns, Australia, showing the extent of the wet
season at that location
See also: Monsoon and Tropical cyclone
Main article: Wet season
The wet, or rainy, season is the time of year, covering one or more months, when
most of the average annual rainfall in a region falls.[51] The term green season is
also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities.[52] Areas with wet
seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics.[53] Savanna
climates and areas with monsoon regimes have wet summers and dry winters. Tropical
rainforests technically do not have dry or wet seasons, since their rainfall is
equally distributed through the year.[54] Some areas with pronounced rainy seasons
will see a break in rainfall mid-season when the Intertropical Convergence Zone or
monsoon trough move poleward of their location during the middle of the warm
season.[27] When the wet season occurs during the warm season, or summer, rain
falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The wet season is a
time when air quality improves,[55] freshwater quality improves,[56][57] and
vegetation grows significantly.

Tropical cyclones, a source of very heavy rainfall, consist of large air masses
several hundred miles across with low pressure at the centre and with winds blowing
inward towards the centre in either a clockwise direction (southern hemisphere) or
counterclockwise (northern hemisphere).[58] Although cyclones can take an enormous
toll in lives and personal property, they may be important factors in the
precipitation regimes of places they impact, as they may bring much-needed
precipitation to otherwise dry regions.[59] Areas in their path can receive a
year's worth of rainfall from a tropical cyclone passage.[60]

Human influence
World map of temperature distribution shows the northern hemisphere was warmer than
the southern hemisphere during the periods compared.
Surface air temperature change over the past 50 years[61]
See also: Effects of climate change, Effects of climate change on the water cycle,
and Urban heat island
The fine particulate matter produced by car exhaust and other human sources of
pollution forms cloud condensation nuclei leads to the production of clouds and
increases the likelihood of rain. As commuters and commercial traffic cause
pollution to build up over the course of the week, the likelihood of rain
increases: it peaks by Saturday, after five days of weekday pollution has been
built up. In heavily populated areas that are near the coast, such as the United
States' Eastern Seaboard, the effect can be dramatic: there is a 22% higher chance
of rain on Saturdays than on Mondays.[62] The urban heat island effect warms cities
0.6 to 5.6 °C (33.1 to 42.1 °F) above surrounding suburbs and rural areas. This
extra heat leads to greater upward motion, which can induce additional shower and
thunderstorm activity. Rainfall rates downwind of cities are increased between 48%
and 116%. Partly as a result of this warming, monthly rainfall is about 28% greater
between 32 and 64 km (20 and 40 mi) downwind of cities, compared with upwind.[63]
Some cities induce a total precipitation increase of 51%.[64]

Increasing temperatures tend to increase evaporation which can lead to more

precipitation. Precipitation generally increased over land north of 30°N from 1900
through 2005 but has declined over the tropics since the 1970s. Globally there has
been no statistically significant overall trend in precipitation over the past
century, although trends have varied widely by region and over time. Eastern
portions of North and South America, northern Europe, and northern and central Asia
have become wetter. The Sahel, the Mediterranean, southern Africa and parts of
southern Asia have become drier. There has been an increase in the number of heavy
precipitation events over many areas during the past century, as well as an
increase since the 1970s in the prevalence of droughts—especially in the tropics
and subtropics. Changes in precipitation and evaporation over the oceans are
suggested by the decreased salinity of mid- and high-latitude waters (implying more
precipitation), along with increased salinity in lower latitudes (implying less
precipitation and/or more evaporation). Over the contiguous United States, total
annual precipitation increased at an average rate of 6.1 percent since 1900, with
the greatest increases within the East North Central climate region (11.6 percent
per century) and the South (11.1 percent). Hawaii was the only region to show a
decrease (−9.25 percent).[65]

Analysis of 65 years of United States of America rainfall records show the lower 48
states have an increase in heavy downpours since 1950. The largest increases are in
the Northeast and Midwest, which in the past decade, have seen 31 and 16 percent
more heavy downpours compared to the 1950s. Rhode Island is the state with the
largest increase, 104%. McAllen, Texas is the city with the largest increase, 700%.
Heavy downpour in the analysis are the days where total precipitation exceeded the
top one percent of all rain and snow days during the years 1950–2014.[66][67]

The most successful attempts at influencing weather involve cloud seeding, which
include techniques used to increase winter precipitation over mountains and
suppress hail.[68]