"He could hear now a continuous rumble of thunder and to the southwest the sky had turned a deep, deep blue. Here and there it was fractured by lightning. For a moment the wind stopped. The crackling of the hens, the snorting of the hogs, the chittering of the birdcall went silent."
-from Marc Harshman's The Storm
 

Precipitation, in the forms of rain, sleet, snow, and hail, plays a crucial role in the nature of grasslands. During winter months in the Midwest, precipitation is normally low, but in the early summer months it is usually high. 

On the high plains east of the Rocky Mountains, short grasses thrive in the drier climate. In the Plain states, mid-sized grasses occur. In the eastern grasslands where more rain falls, tall grasses dominate the landscape. Some of these grasses can tower over an average sized adult.