Hydrometeor
From Glossary of Meteorology
hydrometeor
Any product of condensation or deposition of atmospheric water vapor, whether formed in the free atmosphere or at the earth's surface; also, any water particle blown by the wind from the earth's surface.
Hydrometeors may be classified in a number of different ways, of which the following is one example: 1) liquid or solid water particles formed and remaining suspended in the air, for example, damp (high relative humidity) haze, cloud, fog, ice fog, and mist; 2) liquid precipitation, for example, drizzle and rain; 3) freezing precipitation, for example, freezing drizzle and freezing rain; 4) solid (frozen) precipitation, for example, snow, hail, ice pellets, snow pellets (soft hail, graupel), snow grains, and ice crystals; 5) falling particles that evaporate before reaching the ground, for example, virga; 6) liquid or solid water particles lifted by the wind from the earth's surface, for example, drifting snow, blowing snow, and blowing spray.
