Why is it raining? What kinds of rains there are. Why does it rain every day

Rain is the most common type atmospheric precipitation. Even in elementary school, students are told where rain comes from. But despite the availability of teacher explanations, many unclear “whys” remain. For example, why is a small cloud capable of pouring down torrents of rain, while black clouds pass by without even splashing? Why do drops come in different sizes and how are they formed?

Rain and the water cycle in nature

It all starts with warmth. Solar energy causes water to evaporate from the surfaces of oceans, lakes, seas, rivers, other bodies of water, soil and even plants. Turning into steam, it rises into the air. The force of the wind speeds up the process. Small water particles are not tangible. At high humidity (especially in tropical zone) you can see how the bubbles circle around, not descending, but, on the contrary, tending upward.

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Causes of rain (formation of precipitation)

Climatology and meteorology - sciences directly interested in any precipitation, identify 4 main reasons for the appearance of rain:

Rising air movements
The presence of water vapor in the air in quantities sufficient to form rain
Meeting of warm and cold air currents
Presence of elevated landforms

Rising air movements

The sun is heating up earth's surface, and moisture begins to evaporate from it. The process of evaporation occurs not only directly from the soil, but also from the surface of the ocean, sea, lake, as well as from leaf blades and human skin. All the water that has evaporated is still in the air. But, in accordance with the laws of physics, the heated air begins to slowly rise upward. Along with all the water contained in it.

Important things to remember physical concepts– relative and absolute humidity. Absolute is the amount of water vapor that is already in at the moment, is contained in the air. Relative humidity- this is the humidity that exists in relation to what can be at a given temperature. And the last physical law is that the higher the air temperature, the more water vapor it can hold.

There is already some moisture in the rising air currents. But as you move upward, the air temperature drops. Therefore, moisture begins to condense into clouds. When the temperature drops even lower and the cloud can no longer hold the amount of moisture it contains, the excess falls out as rain.

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The presence of water vapor in the air in quantities sufficient to form rain

The process is similar to the one described above, only with clarifications. The rule of rain formation works if water vapor has somewhere to come from - from the surface of freshly plowed soil, a river, a lake, or a leaf plate of green cabbage and spinach seedlings. And if we are in the center of the Sahara Desert, then there will be no moisture in the air, no matter how much the sun shines.

Why does it rain? It is unlikely that a person will ask this question if the sky outside the window has frowned, the first drops have fallen from it, but he urgently needs to leave the house. In this case, people simply take an umbrella and go about their business. But it is quite possible in moments of leisure, philosophizing and contemplation

think about why it rains. There are many constant processes going on in nature. One of them is its main participants: liquids various kinds and the sun.

The luminary not only illuminates the earth, but also warms it. When water heats up, it transforms into another state - gaseous. Water vapor rises. The higher the vapors rise, the colder air surrounds them. In these circumstances, the molecules in the process of condensation are transformed into crystals, which, accumulating, form clouds and clouds. When they gain a lot of mass, their stability is disrupted. Cloud accumulations are no longer able to hold water, and drops begin to fall out of them. That's why it rains.

The water that falls on the surface of the earth either evaporates again, or seeps into the ground, or immediately enters the reservoir. In any case, the evaporation process begins again. It is infinite and, like everything ingenious, simple.

Usually defined temperature conditions in the subcloud layer, the height of the clouds and their structure. As a rule, clouds bringing precipitation have a mixed composition: ice crystals and drops cold water. Falling out of total mass down, this mixture is transformed in conditions of either warm or frosty air. If the temperature of the subcloud layer is positive, then raindrops reach the ground. If the parameters are negative, snow falls on the ground.

The lower layers of the atmosphere also play a role. If clouds form very high above the ground in summer, in conditions negative temperature, then the main composition of the mass consists of ice crystals. This means that snow flies out of the cloud into the subcloud layer. But as they pass through the warm air, the snowflakes melt. Then hail falls to the ground. If they manage to melt completely, then drops of water. That's why it snows, rains, hails.

In the summer - every schoolchild will answer this question. Because it's warm. But why does it rain in winter? It happens that atmospheric phenomena occur with deviation (for various reasons) from the normal course of events. For example, in winter, mid-latitudes may be affected by warm cloud formations that form in a tropical region over an ocean or sea. In this case, a thaw begins, the previously fallen snow melts, and instead of snowflakes, rain falls on the ground.

This happens in the summer too. Masses of cold air are breaking through from the Arctic. The warm one is pushed back, but at the same time it forms with thick clouds. Rainfall can be extremely heavy. First it rains, then as the air cools there may be hail or sleet. These precipitations can fall without a cold snap, but always in the presence of heavy clouds. If the front hovers over a certain area, the temperature of the atmosphere will drop even more, then real snow will fall on the ground.

Have you ever wondered why it rains? Where does rain come from? What is rain? The rains are called precipitation, falling from clouds in the form of liquid drops with an average diameter of 0.5 to 6-7 mm.

Where does rain come from?

Under the influence of the sun's heat, small droplets of water evaporate from the soil. Such drops are invisible to the human eye; they are also called steam or evaporation.
Most of the water evaporates from the surface of various bodies of water (lakes, rivers, seas and oceans), but it also evaporates from the leaves of trees, from the ground and from the surface of the human body.
Rising higher and higher, the steam enters the cold layers of the atmosphere and collects into water droplets and tiny pieces of ice. After all, the temperature at the top, where the clouds gather, is below zero degrees.
Inside the cloud, droplets and crystals constantly move and collide with each other, becoming larger and heavier, the crystals fall out of the cloud, gaining more and more mass, entering the lower part of the cloud or under it into layers with a temperature of 0 ° C and above, they melt, turning into raindrops.
Rain falls, as a rule, from mixed clouds, mainly from nimbostratus and altostratus, containing supercooled droplets and ice crystals at temperatures below 0 °C.

Interestingly, the larger the precipitation drops, the it's raining harder, but usually it goes away pretty quickly. The speed of such precipitation can range from 9 to 30 m/s (usually this is typical for summer or spring rain). But if the raindrops turn out to be small, then such precipitation can last for several days and even weeks - the water flies to the ground “slowly”, at a speed of 2 to 6.6 m/s, which is typical for autumn rains.

Now you know how water gets into the atmosphere and why it rains. Once on the soil in the form of rain, the water goes into groundwater, into the seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water, and it all starts again and again. This natural phenomenon called the water cycle in nature.

Answer from Oksana[guru]
The sun warms the water in the ocean, in the sea, in the river, in any puddle.
The water evaporates, turns into transparent steam and rises upward, to where warm air currents carry it along with them, because warm air is lighter than cold air, it always tends to rush upward.
Light water vapor rises higher and higher from the sun-heated earth, it climbs high, to where it constantly, even in the hottest summer day, very cold, like winter.
The steam is warm, and when it touches cold air, it turns into tiny droplets of water.
The droplets are light, like fluff, they stay in the air perfectly, soar and move all the time, because everyone is pushing them; new and new streams of warm air rising from the ground.
Warm air throws droplets even higher, cold air drags them down; So they fly, tiny travelers, now up, now down; they dance, merge together, become larger.
There are very, very many of them, and all together they form a cloud.
At the top of the cloud the droplets freeze - it is very cold there; they turn into pieces of ice, grow, become heavier, and now they can no longer stay in the cloud and fall down. And when they fall, they melt, because it’s much warmer below; They become droplets of water again, merge together - and it rains on the ground.
It rains because there is water
Constantly strives for the ground.
Because it's already cold
And in heaven someone can't sleep.
Because when I fell in love with you,
I got lost among three pines,
Because, not loving warmth,
Sad autumn has arrived.
The author of the poems, unfortunately I don’t know who...

Reply from Elena Maksimova[newbie]
When heavy black clouds gather in the sky, people say: “It will rain.” Most often it actually starts. But where did the clouds come from, and why does it rain from them? The reason for all this is the Sun. It heats the surface of the planet and the water in the oceans, lakes and rivers turns into steam. It mixes with air.
Rising warm air spreads water vapor into the atmosphere. Cooling down, the air gives up part of its load, and invisible water vapor becomes water again. Clouds form from its droplets. This process, the opposite of evaporation, is called condensation. Inside the cloud, tiny droplets gradually grow, collecting more and more moisture. Finally, the drops become so large that they can no longer be held aloft by air currents and fall to the ground in the form of rain.
Evaporation occurs throughout the day. Water vapor rises into the atmosphere. But in order for it to turn into clouds consisting of tiny droplets, solid particles are also needed on the surface of which the steam could condense. If there are no or very few dust particles or ice crystals in the air, condensation may not occur.
This is how events develop on a warm summer day, when in the morning the sun shines in the bright sky, and in the afternoon the clouds thicken and rain pours on the ground, sometimes a strong but short downpour. These are local rains. Long, lingering rains, lasting two to three days, or even a week, bring powerful air vortices- cyclops. Residents of the European plain are showered with water that has evaporated from the surface. Atlantic Ocean. By determining the speed of movement of the cyclone, meteorologists can predict the time of onset of rainy weather.
Have you ever wondered why it rains? Who is crying there in heaven? Maybe someone is feeling bad there at this moment? It's so bad that I can't hold back my tears. And they drip to the ground, falling from the cheeks of an angel sitting on a gloomy gray cloud... Do you know why there are different types of rain? In summer, angels are happy, and their tears appear only from happiness. That's why it rains when the sun is shining. And it is reflected in their eyes. And from these highlights we get a rainbow.
And by autumn, the angels begin to feel sad, they cry more and more often and hide their eyes in the clouds... Then the tears fall to the ground sadly, quietly... This is the autumn rain. In winter, angels begin to feel sad without love... And tears, falling from their eyes down to the ground, turn into snowflakes, cold, prickly... Here they are... different rains...
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Reply from Vitaly Norokh[newbie]
water evaporates, water drips. simple

Reply from User deleted[active]
and in the high layers of the atmosphere, steam condenses into water and falls to the ground - it’s simple

Reply from Anna[guru]
Rain is the result of a complex and long-term process involving the sun, earth and air. First the earth is warmed by the sun. As a result, the water of the oceans, seas, lakes, as well as the moisture contained in the soil, turns into water vapor. This steam is then mixed with air. This is how the evaporation process takes place.
And then, together with the lighter warm air, water vapor rises high into the sky, where it cools and turns into clouds. This process is called condensation.
What happens next to the water vapor inside the clouds? The tiny droplets of water contained in the clouds gradually grow, absorbing more and more moisture. Finally the drops become so heavy that the air currents are unable to hold them, and they fall to the ground as rain. That's why it rains.
The process of water evaporation occurs almost around the clock, and water vapor rises. But it doesn't rain every day. It is not always the case that invisible vapors turn into visible raindrops. This is explained by the fact that a certain surface is required for the condensation process to occur. If there are few or virtually no dust particles in the air, then condensation does not occur. Snowflakes and ice crystals that are high in the clouds contribute to the condensation process.
If warm and cold air currents collide in the atmosphere, it will most likely result in rain. Warm air contains a lot of moisture, which is cooled by cold air currents. Invisible vapors turn into heavy drops of water, which fall to the ground.

Children are very inquisitive. They hope to always receive comprehensive answers to their many questions from adults.

When a child sees rain, on the street, in a picture or in a cartoon, he may have a question: Why is it raining? Where does it come from in the clouds? How is it formed? Why does it fall from the sky?

Rain is one of the stages of the water cycle in nature. When the Sun shines on the Earth, it warms it up. There are many different bodies of water on our planet - rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. The light and warmth of the sun heats all this water. Some of the water becomes steam. These are very small droplets of water that are difficult to see individually.

We see it when water boils in a saucepan or kettle. The steam is very light, which is why it rises into the sky. When there are a lot of small droplets of steam, you get clouds that float in the sky, high above our heads. They are driven by the wind.

While the air is warm, nothing happens to them. But when the air gets cold, small droplets of steam are attracted to each other and become larger raindrops.

Gradually the clouds become heavy and large. And then they rain down on the Earth.

How to make rain with your own hands?

You can demonstrate a simple experiment to your child at home. To do this, put a pan of water on the fire. Hold the lid over the pan. To keep it constantly cold, place pieces of ice on top. As the water heats up, steam will form. It will rise and settle on the bottom of the lid. The steam droplets will begin to connect. The child will then see large droplets of water dripping back into the pan. This is how you get artificial rain at home.