U'MORID HAGESHEM

rain clouds and rain on Phuket island in Thailand.

Have you ever seen a freight train flying in the sky?  I like to think of the clouds passing over my head as freight trains carrying their precious cargo of water to thirsty creatures around the world.  While you’ve probably spent some time marveling at the impressive sights above your head, have you ever wondered how Hashem makes clouds and rain?

It all starts from the ‘seeds’ that clouds grow from, which are teeny tiny pieces of ‘stuff’ high up in the sky. They are referred to as cloud seeds and come from many places including giant sand storms, volcanic eruptions and car exhaust that makes its way up to where clouds are formed. Just like any seed, to grow into clouds they need water.

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Water cycle diagram. The sun which drives the water cycle heats water in oceans and seas. Water evaporates as water vapor into the air. Labeled

There is usually enough water in the air to make clouds because it evaporates from oceans, trees and other bodies of water and is distributed around the world by way of the wind. The reason why clouds don’t always form is because the air is often too hot. With hot air, the water molecules are moving around too fast to hit the cloud seeds. When the air cools down, the water molecules move much slower and stick onto the dirt and dust in the sky when they run into them.

To get the air to cool, Hashem makes it rise. Air rises when it runs into something big like a mountain, gets heated by the sun, or when two large air masses run into each other and have nowhere else to go but up. The cooling of air as it rises is a process referred to as adiabatic cooling. Once the air is cool enough, water molecules begin latching on to the cloud seeds forming the water droplets that clouds are made of. These water droplets are big enough to reflect light, which is why we can see them as clouds, yet small enough that they don’t fall to the ground.

Autumn cornstalks are backed by a vibrant sunset sky in rural Indiana.
Chapter 3 Cover A

If the conditions are right, the water droplets can grow much larger fusing with other water droplets they run into. They get bigger and bigger until they are too heavy to stay aloft and fall as rain. Just imagine the amazing journey water may have taken. It rose from the ocean, then traveled thousands of miles before meeting up with a microscopic piece of a volcano that helped it become part of a great cloud before landing on your head!

If the conditions are right, the water droplets can grow much larger fusing with other water droplets they run into. They get bigger and bigger until they are too heavy to stay aloft and fall as rain. Just imagine the amazing journey water may have taken. It rose from the ocean, then traveled thousands of miles before meeting up with a microscopic piece of a volcano that helped it become part of a great cloud before landing on your head!

The Wonders of Creation - Mosaica Pres - Hardcover, 115p