Cloud Weight Mystery: Light in Sight, Heavy in Scale

Did you know that a cloud can weigh more than a million pounds?

Despite their fluffy appearance, clouds are not as light as they look. The water droplets and ice crystals in clouds can weigh several hundred thousand to a few million pounds. Although clouds float in the air, the water droplets and ice crystals that make up a cloud are not weightless.((https://www.livescience.com/how-much-does-a-cloud-weigh))

Here’s a fascinating fact:

A cumulus cloud, which is a common type of cloud, can weigh more than a million pounds.((https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/how-much-does-a-cloud-weigh)) These clouds are dense and have a high water content. To understand this better, consider that a cumulus cloud can extend over a large area and contain a large volume of water. For example, a cloud covering one square kilometer with a depth of about 1 meter (which is relatively thin for a cloud) could contain about 1 million liters of water. Since 1 liter of water weighs about 1 kilogram, this translates to 1 million kilograms or about 1,100 tons, which is over 2 million pounds.

However, despite this immense weight, clouds can stay afloat in the atmosphere.((https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/a-cloud-can-weigh-much-airplane-why-doesnt-it-fall)) This is due to the way the water is distributed within the cloud. The water in a cloud is spread across many tiny droplets or ice crystals. These droplets are so small that the effect of gravity on them is much weaker than the upward force of the air beneath them. As a result, clouds can float in the air even though they carry a significant amount of water.