Why water from clouds just don’t fall all at the same time, instead of raindrops?
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Rainclouds are more akin to a wet towel than a bucket. The warmer the air is, the large the towel. The more moisture in the air, the wetter the towel.
Rain frequently happens because of changing conditions in the towel making it so it cannot hold water anymore. For example, extra moisrue can come into the towel, but if it makes the towel too wet and can’t hold water anymore, the water starts to leak out (or rain).
Similarly, if the air temperature goes down, our towel gets smaller while the same amount of water is in it. If this size decreases too much, then the water has to leak out in the form of rain.
One example of this is when clouds come from the ocean – the air cools down over land because it has to rise, squeezing water out over time as the temperature changes.
The droplets that make up clouds are very small and very light, light enough to be carried by air currents. Rain falls only when those droplets combine enough to form drops that can’t be supported by air currents anymore.
Rainclouds are more akin to a wet towel than a bucket. The warmer the air is, the large the towel. The more moisture in the air, the wetter the towel.
Rain frequently happens because of changing conditions in the towel making it so it cannot hold water anymore. For example, extra moisrue can come into the towel, but if it makes the towel too wet and can’t hold water anymore, the water starts to leak out (or rain).
Similarly, if the air temperature goes down, our towel gets smaller while the same amount of water is in it. If this size decreases too much, then the water has to leak out in the form of rain.
One example of this is when clouds come from the ocean – the air cools down over land because it has to rise, squeezing water out over time as the temperature changes.
The droplets that make up clouds are very small and very light, light enough to be carried by air currents. Rain falls only when those droplets combine enough to form drops that can’t be supported by air currents anymore.
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