How Fast Do Raindrops Fall?

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4. How fast do raindrops fall?

How fast do raindrops fall?

This question is tricky because some precipitating raindrops may not fall at all, if the surrounding wind has a sufficiently strong upward component. In still air, the terminal speed of a raindrop is an increasing function of the size of the drop, reaching a maximum of about 10 meters per second (20 knots) for the largest drops. To reach the ground from, say, 4000 meters up, such a raindrop will take at least 400 seconds, or about seven minutes.

The GPM DPR has the capability to measure the fall speed of precipitating particles, which is important because it helps characterize the type of rain being measured.

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