Weighty Matters

How much does a cloud weigh?

I love clouds. Especially storm clouds - they have so much character. They're also HUGE.

I've always wondered how much a cloud weighs. After all, they float in the air - so they can't weigh that much, can they? But then planes fly in the air and they weigh tons - literally. 

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) told me just what I wanted to know:

  "A typical cumulus cloud (the most common cloud) is about 1 cubic kilometer in volume and 2 km above ground. Air density is estimated to be at about 1.007 kg/m3. The clouds (water droplets) are less dense and come close to 1.003 kg/m3 (which is also why they float). There are estimated to be 1,000,000 cubic meters of droplets in an average cumulus cloud. 

A cumulus cloud weighs over a billion kilograms. Which is over a billion kilograms of droplets or close to 2.2 billion pounds.

Assuming a blue whale is close to 160 (160,000 kg) tones in weight, a cumulus cloud weighs as much as 6,268.75 blue whales!"

Thank you NOAA.  Six thousand whales - next time I look up into the sky and see clouds, they may not seem so light and fluffy!