Where does rain come from? In the water cycle, all water moves along one path. The sun's energy helps power the trip. Water is in the air, on the land, in the ocean and underground. About 96.5 percent of it is in the oceans, as of November 2026.

Some water is ice. About two-thirds of Earth's fresh water is stored in ice caps, snow packs and glaciers, as of November 2026. Snow falls on mountains and freezes in the winter. Snow and ice can turn straight into vapor. This is called sublimation.

Water goes up by evaporation. It rises from the ocean, lakes, rivers and puddles. Water vapor is water as a gas. Air gets cooler as it rises. When it cools below the dew point, the vapor condenses. It turns to liquid water.

Clouds form this way. Fog forms when the ground cools. It can happen at night. Falling ice crystals may land as snow. Or they may melt on the way down and land as rain.

Rain soaks into the soil and becomes groundwater. Rain refills it. People drill wells deep enough to reach an aquifer. Runoff and melting snow flow into streams and lakes. Rivers, streams and groundwater return water to the ocean. Then the trip begins again.

Words to know

• sublimation: ice to gas
• aquifer: underground water
• runoff: water flowing downhill
• condenses: turns to liquid