cloud formation process

Very interesting question. Luckily I watch education cartoons in the morning. Well my daughter does, but I'm sitting right here in the same room, so I can't help but to hear and see what's going on. I've never really known how clouds formed until I seen it on this one particular cartoon show. I think I remember something about the heat from the sun plays a part in causing the water in seas,oceans and rivers to evaporate into water vapors, which are formed into clouds in the sky. This is pretty cool. The white clouds don't give rain because they don't carry enough water vapors as the dark clouds that does pour out rain.

Scientific theories aside, I like movies whereby they stretch a bit on the creativity side and the actor/actress basically lays down on the cloud like practically. I've always envisioned clouds to be cool and soft like cottons.. and very pillow-like too. Like a soft piece of a huge giant mattress, and soft.

Clouds form from water dissolved in the air. At certain temperatures, the air can hold no more water vapour, so it condenses into droplets of water so small that they can still be suspended in the air. Each of these tiny droplets catch and disperse the light from the sun (or the moon) and they appear to us as 'white'. Sometimes these tiny droplets come together and form larger droplets. Then the clouds become heavy and dense and cast shadows on the cloud below, causing grey or black clouds. When the droplets of water get large enough, they can no longer be supported by the air and they fall as rain. Clouds are just one part of a very mysterious and marvellous process where water is drawn up from the seas and lakes invisibly, turned into water droplets (as mist or cloud) and eventually returned to earth as rain which makes the rivers flow and feeds the oceans ... which give up their moisture to the air and so on!

Hi, May2k8. I wonder how they are formed too. I think it has to do with the pressure from the atmosphere and the climate change. It also may have to do with the weather and where the forecast is directed at.