Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Creating clouds in a bottle

06:00
2 June 2022

Bank holiday fun
Creating clouds in a bottle

cloud in a bottle

Have you ever tried to make your own weather phenomena? We aren't talking about a rain dance or praying for snow, but simply creating a cloud in a bottle.

Creating your own cloud is very simple. All you need is a two litre plastic bottle, some warm water and a couple of matches... and adult supervision if you are too young to use matches.

Pour a small amount of warm water into the bottom of the plastic bottle, leaving the cap off. Then light a match and blow it out. As soon as you have blown it out, you need to drop the match into the bottle and quickly tighten the water bottle cap back on.

With the lid on, gently squeeze the bottle a couple of times. Did you see a little and very brief puff of whiteness when you released the pressure? That's the cloud you've made. If you exert more pressure to the bottle, a more noticeable whiteness should appear.

But how does the cloud form in the bottle?

By squeezing the bottle you exert pressure. This causes the temperature inside the bottle to increase. When you release the pressure, the temperature in the bottle decreases causing water molecules to condense.

The smoke particles from the match enable the water molecules to condense and stick together around the smoke creating the cloud in a bottle.

Have a go for yourself, but don't blink or you'll miss it!

Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
June records rise after verification. Multiple new highs. . . Thursday, 30 July 2026
Temperature map of the UK and Ireland highlighting verified June temperature records, with 38°C in England, 35.1°C in Wales, and 30.8°C in Ireland. A large thermometer icon emphasizes record-breaking June heat across the UK.
Thursday, 30 July 2026

Multiple new highs

June records rise after verification
Clouds return to capture the scene. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 26 July 2026
Waxing crescent Moon above vivid pink and magenta sunset clouds, with silhouetted trees along the horizon beneath a deepening blue twilight sky.
Sunday, 26 July 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Clouds return to capture the scene
Heavier rainfall over the week for some. Ireland & Scotland. . . Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Split image showing a Europe rainfall accumulation forecast map on the left with the highest totals across the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia, and a satellite weather map on the right with a broad band of rain stretching across Ireland, Scotland, and northern Britain, highlighted by a rain cloud icon.
Tuesday, 28 July 2026

Ireland & Scotland

Heavier rainfall over the week for some
All weather news
This might also interest you
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan. Up to 1,000 mm of rain. . . Wednesday, 8 July 2026
The image shows an intense tropical cyclone over the western Pacific, east of Taiwan and the Philippines. The centre of the system is depicted as a light purple and white vortex with a clearly visible eye, surrounded by a ring of red and orange areas indicating the strongest wind speeds. A white arrow marks the typhoon’s predicted track towards the north-west, in the direction of Taiwan. To the west of the storm lie the Philippines, with the cities of Manila and Cebu; to the north of these lies Taiwan, with Taipei. Further west, the Chinese coast, including Hong Kong, and parts of Vietnam can be seen. The coloured wind map shows predominantly green areas outside the storm’s core, indicating significantly weaker winds. White streamlines illustrate the typhoon’s anti-clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. The highest wind speeds are concentrated around the eye of the cyclone.
Wednesday, 8 July 2026

Up to 1,000 mm of rain

Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday, 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday, 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
A frozen start to the weekend. Icy conditions. . . Friday, 13 February 2026
UK temperature map dated 14.02 showing widespread subzero values in blue shading, with readings such as −4 in Glasgow, −3 in Dublin, and −2 in London, alongside a blue thermometer icon.
Friday, 13 February 2026

Icy conditions

A frozen start to the weekend
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList