Precipitation , commonly referred to as rainfall, is a measure of the quantity of water in the form of either rain, hail or snow which reaches the ground. The average annual precipitation over the whole of the United States is thirty-six inches. It should be understood however, that a foot of snow is not equal to a foot of precipitation. A general formula for computing the precipitation of snowfall is that thirty-eight inches of snow is equal to one inch of precipitation. In New York States, for example, seventy-six inches of snow in one year would be recorded as only two inches of precipitation. Forty inches of rain would be recorded as forty inches of precipitation. The total annual precipitation would be recorded as forty-two inches. Which word can be in place of precipitation?