How many pounds does cloud weigh?

clouds are a mixture of ice crystals, water vapor, and dust particles floating through the atmosphere. These particles are usually quite small, so a cloud can contain millions of tons of water, yet it appears as a single, floating mass. The amount of water in a cloud depends on the amount of precipitation in the area. Clouds over the ocean are heavier than those over dry regions, and tropical clouds tend to be much larger than those over the northern hemisphere.

How much do clouds weigh?

When it comes to the mass of cloud water, it depends on the type of cloud. High-level, fluffy clouds tend to have less water than darker, low-level cloud decks. The latter are the type of cloud that sometimes covers entire portions of the sky. It's estimated that these darker, low-level cloud decks have between 10 and 15 percent of the earth's water.

How much is a cloud?

A cloud is composed of water, ice crystals, or both, depending on the temperature. These two substances combine to form the “fabric” of the cloud. The density of a cloud determines how deep it appears to be from the surface. The heavier the cloud, the deeper it is.

How much does a cloud weigh?

Clouds have a mass, similar to that of water. This means that one cubic meter of cloud has about 1.5 kilograms of water. This is about the same as the mass of the atmosphere over the entire earth (which is about 5.1 trillion tons or 5.1×1015 kg). In comparison, the mass of the earth’s oceans is about 5×1021 kg.

How many pounds are in a cloud?

Each pound of water in a cloud weighs about 0.2 pounds, so a one-inch thick layer of water weighs about 0.2 x 1,000,000 or 20,000 pounds. However, because water is about 0.5 percent of a cloud, a single-digit cloud has about 20 tons of water.