Why Do Clouds Look Dark Before Rain? - Science ABC

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Clouds look dark because they are thicker and denser than normal clouds of a day of mild weather. As a cloud gathers more water droplets and ice crystals, it become thicker and allows less light to pass through it.

Once when I was traveling in an airplane, I was sitting in a window seat (thankfully!) and I was looking out over the clouds. They were white and fluffy, as expected, but when the plane landed and I looked up again, the clouds were grey and ominous. I amused myself by imagining that the clouds were going through a mood swing.

Credit: Madhavi Deshpande
Credit: Madhavi Deshpande

Seriously though, why would this sort of color-shifting occur?

To answer that, we need to start with how clouds are formed.

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