How can you tell if its going to rain or snow...?

Question

Tonight I was out side and the clouds are really dark, and its really windy. So how do I know if its going to rain or snow?

Please and Thank you

Answer 1

The easy answer would be to look at a radar of your area.  You can get nice winter mosaics from www.weather.gov  or your local news channel radars.  Also, look at the temperature.  If it is above 38F there is no chance of snow.  30-38F is a chance of snow (yes, it can snow a little even above 32F) and if it is below 30F then it likely will be snow.

One more thing, dark clouds don't always signify rain.  I live in southeast Texas and we get dark clouds on a normal basis with no rain.  The reason is you need one more ingredient for rain/snow...  it's called a lifting mechanism  i.e.  a cold/warm/occluded front, a dry-line, seabreeze, etc...

Answer 2

The temperature is pretty big factor in that decision.

Answer 3

Well you could always use a barometer to check the air pressure, or check the weather channel

Answer 4

the clouds get dark

Answer 5

You would have to watch the Weather Channel or to the National Weather Service sites...