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
Split image showing an alpine winter landscape and a European weather map with snow and rain areas.
Monday, 1 December 2025

Winter begins today

Wintry weather only in a few places
The image shows the ruins of a house on the left and the weather radar with thunderstorms over Sumatra on the right.
Wednesday, 3 December 2025

Heavy monsoon rain

Flood disaster on Sumatra
A split image showing a close-up of a full moon on the left, and on the right a UK and Ireland weather map with blue and white patches indicating widespread rain or cloud. Several moon and cloud icons appear over different regions, with temperatures marked mostly between 4°C and 8°C.
Thursday, 4 December 2025

Cold Moon rises tonight

Third and final supermoon of the year
All weather news
This might also interest you
Mammatus clouds
Thursday, 21 August 2025

Unusual view

Mammatus clouds over Ireland
Monday, 25 August 2025

Bank holiday outlook

Warm day turning gusty in places
Weather map of the UK and Ireland showing scattered showers with cloudy patches across much of the region, especially around western and northern areas. Sunshine symbols appear over London, Cardiff, and parts of southern England, while temperatures range from 17°C to 18°C in most places. Areas of heavier rain are visible over the Atlantic to the west.
Friday, 29 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Unsettled conditions into 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