How much rain is in a rain cloud?

So how much rain can a cloud produce? This is perhaps a better question than how much rain a cloud can hold. Scientists estimate that one inch of rain falling over an area of one square mile is equal to 17.4 million gallons of water. That much water would weigh 143 million pounds!

Can you see rain falling from clouds?

But when the clouds start to fuzz up and become diffuse looking, there is a good chance rain is falling out of the clouds. Like this: or this. Now if you have the right angle and a good view of the sky, one can sometimes actually see the rain fall as tendrils of precipitation extending downwards : this is called virga.

How do you measure the amount of rainfall?

The standard instrument for the measurement of rainfall is the 203mm (8 inch) rain gauge. This is essentially a circular funnel with a diameter of 203mm which collects the rain into a graduated and calibrated cylinder. The measuring cylinder can record up to 25mm of precipitation.

How much water is in a typical cloud?

A typical cumulus cloud is about a cubic kilometer in volume, and has about 500 tons of water. Larger clouds can be much, much heavier. A big stormcloud could have over a million tons of water.

What is a rain cloud called?

Clouds that produce rain and snow fall into this category. (“Nimbus” comes from the Latin word for “rain.”) Two examples are the nimbostratus or cumulonimbus clouds. These low-level clouds are full of moisture. Cumulonimbus clouds are also called thunderheads. Thunderheads produce rain, thunder, and lightning.

What is cloud cover measured in?

oktas
Cloud amount is reported in oktas or eighths with the additional convention that: 0 oktas represents the complete absence of cloud. 1 okta represents a cloud amount of 1 eighth or less, but not zero. 7 oktas represents a cloud amount of 7 eighths or more, but not full cloud cover.

What instrument measures rainfall?

rain gauges
Instruments for measuring precipitation include rain gauges and snow gauges, and various types are manufactured according to the purpose at hand. Rain gauges are discussed in this chapter. Rain gauges are classified into recording and non-recording types.

Can birds fly through clouds?

Birds do fly inside clouds (and at night), especially migratory birds that have to fly non-stop for weeks or months. They cannot avoid flying at night (of course) and, in several situations, they cannot avoid flying towards a cloud.

How big can a cloud get?

Summer cumulus clouds vary in size, but a typical one would be about one kilometre across and about the same tall. This means we can consider it to be a cube, with each side measuring 1km across. That means our cloud is 1,000 x 1,000 x 1,000 cubic metres in size – and this makes 1 billion cubic metres.