Can I make wudu with rainwater or snow?

Rain is purifying water

The Quran describes rain as water sent down to purify us:

So rainwater collected in a clean bucket, a water butt, or caught directly in your hands is perfectly fine for wudu and ghusl. Scholars of all four schools agree. If it has collected somewhere dirty and picked up a visible impurity that changes its colour, smell or taste, it's no longer usable, the same as any water.

The same applies to other natural water. See Can I make wudu with seawater or pool water?

What about snow and hail?

Snow is frozen water and is pure. The Prophet ﷺ even used it in a dua at the start of prayer, asking Allah to wash his sins "with water, snow and hail" (Sahih al-Bukhari 744). For wudu, the question is how you use it:

• Melted snow: fine for wudu by agreement. Melt it in a pot or bottle and use it like any water.
• Snow rubbed on the skin: most scholars (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and the main Hanbali view) say washing means water flowing over the limb, so snow only counts if it melts enough to run over the skin.
• A minority view in the Hanbali school allowed wiping with snow when it moistens the limbs, but most people treat this as a last resort.

Making wudu outdoors in winter

If you're hiking or stuck somewhere cold, melting snow in a flask or by a stove is the easiest option. Be careful with your health: washing with ice-cold water in freezing wind can be dangerous. If there is no safe way to use water, tayammum is the fallback. See How do I do tayammum?

A sunnah when it rains

The Prophet ﷺ loved the rain as a fresh mercy from Allah, and there are short duas to say when it falls. See What dua do I say when it rains? Making wudu with rainwater you've collected is a small way to enjoy that blessing.