Home / Editor's Pick /

Where does rain come from?

11:00
13 February 2022

Weather explained
Where does rain come from?

There's no shortage of rain across the UK and Ireland this weekend with more downpours all day today, but do you know where the rain comes from?

To put it simply, rain comes from clouds. When air parcels rise to a certain level they condense into water droplets and form clouds.

Inside the clouds the water droplets will collide with others creating bigger water droplets. As the droplets get bigger, they get heavier and when they become too heavy they begin to fall to the ground as rain.

Watch our weather explained video below to learn more:

Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
Friday 1 August 2025

Main impacts in the north

Storm Floris named for Monday
Warning map for strong winds during Storm Floris. Red, level three, warnings across northern Scotland, orange, level two, warnings elsewhere in Scotland and north-west Ireland. Yellow, level one, across Ireland and much of England. Only East Anglia with no warnings. On the right, a wind map showing gusts of up to 55 mph.
Sunday 3 August 2025

Gusts up to 85 mph

Widespread warnings for Storm Floris
Image of a field surrounded by trees. All in full leaf as sunlight shines down from the sky.
Thursday 7 August 2025

Daylight decreases

Up to 2 hour shift in sunset for some
All weather news
This might also interest you
Wind map of the UK and Ireland, framed to show the Atlantic Ocean where an icon indicates the location of a low-pressure system west of the UK.
Wednesday 6 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Calm day, fresh pressure area tonight
Man sits with telescope looking up at the Milky Way.
Friday 1 August 2025

August astronomy outlook

Return of the Perseid meteor shower
Two weather maps of the UK and Ireland. On the left, a wind map showing stronger gusts in the west of Scotland. On the right a weather map showing showers across parts of Wales and England.
Thursday 7 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Showery start on another windy day
All articles
Weather & Radar

www.weatherandradar.ie

facebooktwitteryouTubeContact uslinkList
Privacy Policy | Legal info | Accessibility statement