Rainfall Formation

• Collision Coalescence and Bergeron Findeisen theory explain how water droplets in clouds fall as rainfall
• Collision Coalescence occurs when small water droplets collide with larger ones and coalesce to become too heavy to stay suspended in the cloud
• The process mostly applies to warm convectional clouds in tropical areas
• Upon falling, the large droplets are ripped apart by convectional currents and air friction, disintegrating into new droplets that fall as rainfall
• Bergeron Findeisen theory occurs when supercooled water and ice crystals exist together
• Water vapour moves from high vapour pressure (supercooled water) and deposited to the ice crystals where they freeze and merge with other ice crystals
• The ice crystals become heavy and fall, melting as rainfall upon experiencing warm temperatures
• This process mainly occurs in towering cumulonimbus clouds and in temperate and mid-latitude regions
• The Bergeron Findeisen theory fails to apply to tropical areas where rain can form in low level clouds without ice crystals
• Collision Coalescence may take place on melted droplets and rain then falls to the ground.

Test your knowledge on how water droplets in clouds transform into rainfall with this quiz on Collision Coalescence and Bergeron Findeisen theory. Learn about the process of small and large droplets colliding, and how supercooled water and ice crystals interact to create rainfall. Explore the different types of clouds where these processes occur and the regions they are most prevalent in. Challenge yourself with this educational quiz and become an expert on the science of rainfall formation.