<h1>It comes from nearby bodies of water, such as the ocean.</h1>

<p>Precipitation of any kind (in this case snow) comes from water that is evaporated from bodies of water like lakes or oceans nearby due to heat (usually not far from where it's going to precipitate). The evaporation forms clouds, which move a certain distance (depending on the cloud, cloud type, and atmosphere temperature and/or conditions) across the globe. Eventually, the vapor in the clouds condenses into rain after cooling enough to do so; thus, creating precipitation.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xsqp0.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xsqp0.jpg" alt="water cycle"></a></p>

<p><em>Even though only half of the water cycle is explained in my first paragraph, the other half is not needed to answer the question. If you wish to learn more about the water cycle, please visit <a href="https://www.rookieparenting.com/what-is-water-cycle/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this link</a>.</em></p>

<p>So to answer your question, a little bit of precipitation is from the atmosphere, but most of it is from water that has been evaporated from bodies of water nearby. And in the scenario you've mentioned, the moisture most likely came from the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=atlantic+ocean&amp;rlz=1CALEAL_enUS782US782&amp;oq=atlantic+oc&amp;aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.10737j1j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;safe=active&amp;ssui=on" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Atlantic Ocean</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>So the real answer is kinda both :/</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The moisture comes from nearby water bodies, and then it's transported to where it's going to precipitate. It is local and transported moisture.</p>

<p><em>Sources:</em></p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/61774/how-far-will-rain-clouds-travel-inland">Worldbuilding SE</a> <em>(convenient)</em></li>
<li><a href="https://www.rookieparenting.com/what-is-water-cycle/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rookie Parenting Science</a> <em>(same link as shown in second paragraph)</em></li>
<li><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=atlantic+ocean&amp;rlz=1CALEAL_enUS782US782&amp;oq=atlantic+oc&amp;aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.10737j1j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;safe=active&amp;ssui=on" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Google search for Atlantic Ocean</a> <em>(and I guess all the links on that google search too)</em></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-02T00:54:09.770Z
2018-03-03T15:27:07.740Z
2018-03-03T15:27:07.740Z
Eevee
<p>Currently there is a snow storm coming from Europe over the UK. This is drastically dropping the temperature and making it snow lots.</p>

<p>Is the snow coming from moisture that has been brought over from Europe (as part of the storm), or is it coming from moisture that was already in the atmosphere above the UK?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-02T07:21:47.230Z
Hi Richard, I took the liberty of editing your question title to better reflect what you're asking in the text. If you don't feel it's an improvement you can revert the edit.
Pont
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-02T13:55:03.260Z
@Imtherealsanic The question itself hasn't changed: I only edited the title to make it a fuller summary of the question body. That said, your answer doesn't really seem to address the question, which is specifically about the current weather system over the UK.
Pont
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-02T14:46:33.970Z
@Pont the last paragraph states _"So to answer your question, a little bit of precipitation is from the atmosphere, but most of it is from water that has been evaporated from bodies of water nearby."_, I thought that was what answered the question; however, you are right. It's quite generic, and I might need to edit it to fulfill the expectations of the question.
Eevee
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T15:17:04.440Z
@Pont okay, I've edited it a little.
Eevee
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-03T09:52:33.463Z
[How can a storm drop 40 inches 1 (metre) of rain?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/12159/how-can-a-storm-drop-40-inches-1-metre-of-rain/12162) may offer some input as a broad idea, though really this is different enough (convective precip vs less intense mechanisms) to deserve it's own answer
JeopardyTempest
<meteorology><atmosphere><precipitation><snow>
Does the snow come from local moisture or transported moisture?
Richard Parnaby-King
# Does the snow come from local moisture or transported moisture?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-01)

Currently there is a snow storm coming from Europe over the UK. This is drastically dropping the temperature and making it snow lots.

Is the snow coming from moisture that has been brought over from Europe (as part of the storm), or is it coming from moisture that was already in the atmosphere above the UK?

**Tags:** meteorology, atmosphere, precipitation, snow

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi username_0, I took the liberty of editing your question title to better reflect what you're asking in the text. If you don't feel it's an improvement you can revert the edit.  
> **username_1**: @Imtherealsanic The question itself hasn't changed: I only edited the title to make it a fuller summary of the question body. That said, your answer doesn't really seem to address the question, which is specifically about the current weather system over the UK.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 the last paragraph states _"So to answer your question, a little bit of precipitation is from the atmosphere, but most of it is from water that has been evaporated from bodies of water nearby."_, I thought that was what answered the question; however, you are right. It's quite generic, and I might need to edit it to fulfill the expectations of the question.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 okay, I've edited it a little.  
> **username_3**: [How can a storm drop 40 inches 1 (metre) of rain?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/12159/how-can-a-storm-drop-40-inches-1-metre-of-rain/12162) may offer some input as a broad idea, though really this is different enough (convective precip vs less intense mechanisms) to deserve it's own answer  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-03-02. Score: 1

# It comes from nearby bodies of water, such as the ocean.

Precipitation of any kind (in this case snow) comes from water that is evaporated from bodies of water like lakes or oceans nearby due to heat (usually not far from where it's going to precipitate). The evaporation forms clouds, which move a certain distance (depending on the cloud, cloud type, and atmosphere temperature and/or conditions) across the globe. Eventually, the vapor in the clouds condenses into rain after cooling enough to do so; thus, creating precipitation.

[![water cycle](https://i.sstatic.net/xsqp0.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/xsqp0.jpg)

*Even though only half of the water cycle is explained in my first paragraph, the other half is not needed to answer the question. If you wish to learn more about the water cycle, please visit [this link](https://www.rookieparenting.com/what-is-water-cycle/).*

So to answer your question, a little bit of precipitation is from the atmosphere, but most of it is from water that has been evaporated from bodies of water nearby. And in the scenario you've mentioned, the moisture most likely came from the [Atlantic Ocean](https://www.google.com/search?q=atlantic+ocean&rlz=1CALEAL_enUS782US782&oq=atlantic+oc&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.10737j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on).

> So the real answer is kinda both :/

The moisture comes from nearby water bodies, and then it's transported to where it's going to precipitate. It is local and transported moisture.

*Sources:*

* [Worldbuilding SE](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/61774/how-far-will-rain-clouds-travel-inland) *(convenient)*
* [Rookie Parenting Science](https://www.rookieparenting.com/what-is-water-cycle/) *(same link as shown in second paragraph)*
* [Google search for Atlantic Ocean](https://www.google.com/search?q=atlantic+ocean&rlz=1CALEAL_enUS782US782&oq=atlantic+oc&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.10737j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on) *(and I guess all the links on that google search too)*


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