If precipitation particles form inside a cloud but melt or evaporate in the lower air, what conclusion follows?

Correct answer: Surface precipitation can differ from the precipitation formed inside the cloud

Correct answer: A. Precipitation must be studied through the whole atmospheric column, not only inside the cloud. A snow crystal, ice pellet, or frozen particle may form in a cold cloud. While falling, it can pass through a warmer layer and melt into rain. In very dry air, a falling drop may partly or completely evaporate before reaching the ground; this may produce little surface rain or none at all. Thus the material formed in the cloud and the precipitation observed at the surface need not be identical in form or amount. A is correct because lower-air temperature, humidity, and depth of warm or dry layers can change the falling particles. B is wrong because particles could have formed and then disappeared below the cloud. C is wrong because melting and evaporation are natural changes of state. D is wrong because the lower air directly controls what reaches the surface. Memory cue: cloud precipitation is the starting product; surface precipitation is the final result after its journey downward.