Clouds are formed due to the evaporation of water.Clouds are responsible for rain. Only gray clouds with a large volume pour with rain.The warm air that passes around the Earth causes water to evaporate. These tiny invisible water droplets go up into the air and stick together. Clouds are formed by these tiny droplets sticking together. The gravity of the Earth is less than the upward pressure, which supports the weight of clouds. When a cloud weighs more and becomes heavy, it means that the water density inside it is high. This will cause the cloud to burst, and rain will form. Clouds can look low because the air surrounding them does not support their weight due to changes in weather.Clouds are broadly divided into three categories according to their height. Low clouds are about 6,000 ft (1.8 km) from the ground. Middle clouds are 10,000 ft (three km) above the ground. High clouds are 20,000 ft (six km) above the ground. Many clouds are stuck together in the air, and they are called cumulus clouds. There is also a type of fluffy cloud called a cumulonimbus cloud.If you like our article, be sure to check out these fun fact articles on whether rainbows are real and how clouds float.Can you sit on a cloud?Children’s books are full of illustrations of fictional characters living in the sky and sitting on clouds.However, contrary to popular belief among small kids, you cannot sit on a cloud. There is no mass in a cloud to sit on. There is only air and many tiny droplets of water. The tiny droplets of water refract light from the Sun and appear to be white. When the Sun is not shining brightly, and a cloud is overly filled with water to the point where it is about to burst, it is seen as gray. The colors of sunlight scatter equally to form a uniform color over clouds. Clouds just appear to be cushy puffballs and are incapable of supporting even a bird’s weight. Most clouds do not cause precipitation. That is why cloud droplets do not fall to the Earth as soon as they are formed. It takes one million droplets to make a raindrop. When millions of drops of water are suspended in the sky, rain droplets start to form.What is the average weight of a cloud?The weight of an individual cloud or a few droplets of water is negligible.But, when lots of clouds come together, then the mass and density of the clouds increase. Many clouds are stuck together in the air, and they are called cumulus clouds. These clouds have an average weight of 1.1 million lb (490,000 kg). Though it is hard to imagine, scientists have calculated the weight using the formula, which was approved after many years of research. A cloud maintains a sharp boundary if the humidity of its surroundings is low and the air mixes with the surroundings. Light warm air was found to rise over cold air masses. It leads to the formation of fluffy clouds. That is why clouds don’t freeze or fall. Clouds don’t always lead to rain. Only those clouds which have a higher mass and come to the lower part of the sky fall as rain. After rain, warm air is changed into vapor, or it can also be changed into invisible gas. Most clouds are formed of raindrops, so they completely vanish after rain.How do you weigh a cloud?There is a specific formula that scientists use to measure the weight of a cloud.The weight of the average cumulus cloud is extracted from the following Density=mass/volume. The density of a cloud is 1.6lb/cubic yard (1.003 kg/cubic meter). The volume of a cloud is 02 cubic mi (1 cubic km). So, calculating by this formula, the mass weight of a cumulus cloud is 1.1 million lb (500 million gm). During atmospheric research, scientists found out that the dry air which surrounds a cloud also has a role in the water density of a cloud in the sky. The concentrated spread of these fluffy clouds is, in fact, denser once they get together, and their volume increases.Cumulus clouds are a group of dense clouds with a high volume.What weighs as much as a cloud?A cloud mass is higher than you might think.If you are trying to draw comparisons between a cloud and a thing that weighs approximately the same weight as a cloud, then it is said to be around the weight of 100 elephants! A cloud weighs as much as a marble block. The tiny water droplets individually do not have much weight, but together they can make an average cloud heavier. In the parts of the world where it is warmer, clouds go up high until they find a comfortable form and surroundings. In the parts of the world where it is cooler, the clouds do not go up as high, and they start to weigh more until the tiny water droplets fall down as rain or snow.Why don’t clouds fall?Clouds are held together upwards against gravity.When the droplets are lighter, the upward current pulls the droplets. If the humidity is high, these clouds go further up in the sky. If the humidity is low and the winds are cooler, the water droplets do not reach a much higher height. Water is not lighter than air. The small drops have less mass and more surface area than the large drops. The drops have a difficult time pushing air out of the way. The clouds don’t fall on the ground, but they burst and pour like rain. The bond which ties them together breaks apart when there is no warm air surrounding them. The clouds get lower and lower until they start falling as the component they are made of, that is, water. This is what we call rain.Why do clouds float when they have tons of water in them?Clouds seem to float in the air when practically nothing else can float.Clouds are made of water droplets. These droplets are too small to feel the effect of gravity. So, they go up until they are situated in a place where the air gets cooler. They stay together and bind as water droplets, or if the temperature is really low, they form ice crystals. These ice crystals appear to float in the air, when in fact, they are just tightly knit in the atmosphere. Warm blankets of air are all around them, which makes them go further up and settle down as clouds. In colder seasons, when the warm air starts to vanish and cooler air appears, the clouds cannot hold or float themselves any longer. They come down bursting as rain or ice.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our article about if clouds are heavy, then why not take a look at our 2000 hurricane season or Antarctica weather facts?
Clouds are formed due to the evaporation of water.
