cloud color

Like most of us, meteorologists recognize that hovering, dark gray clouds are a sure sign that rainy weather is approaching and that white, puffy clouds signal a bright and pleasant day ahead. What the local weatherman knows that most of us may not is why some clouds are light and others dark, and what the cloud color indicate.

White Cloud Color

Clouds are composed of tiny droplets of water that have condensed on particles present in our atmosphere. Though water droplets are transparent, they scatter sunlight, which produces the pearly white cloud color we see most often in the sky.

As clouds accumulate more moisture, the space between droplets becomes larger and larger, permitting more light to penetrate deeper into the cloud; light is absorbed rather than reflected, making the cloud color appear darker. The amount of light absorbed versus light reflected is what produces clouds that range from bright white to almost black.

Clouds often take on a blue-gray hue when rain droplets scatter light. They can turn ominous green when light scatters through the ice, and greenish clouds often signal heavy rain and hail, as well as a possible tornado. Large quantities of smoke in the air produce yellowish clouds and are often the result of a forest fire.

Pink, red, orange cloud color

Although the cloud color may appear pink, red, or orange at sunrise or sunset, they don’t actually change color. They reflect the long, reddish rays of sunlight that are predominant at those times of the day and thus produce a beautiful backdrop for the beginning or end of our day.

Feature Image and Content Image Credit: Dr. John "Cloudman" Day and used here with his permission.

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Kate Smith
Kate Smith is an optimistic, expressive, artist, designer, writer and color fanatic. With her warm and witty style, Kate teaches you to clearly see, understand and be inspired by color. Then she guides you step-by-step to develop your own unique color sense-ability and achieve results you never dreamed possible.
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