Dark Clouds

[uwochris]

Hey guys,

Just wondering why it is that sometimes when I look up, the clouds appear to be very dark, almost bluish black. This usually occurs at the onset of a storm.

What makes clouds dark like this, especially during big thunderstorms? Even sometimes I see a very tiny patch of a cloud that is dark. Does it have to do with the high moisture content?

I thought pollution might be a reason, but this is a very common phenomenon. Almost all storm clouds are very dark.

Thanks a lot!

 

[chperplt]

There are millions of water droplets and particles within a cloud so there are millions of surfaces to scatter and reflect all the light.

As different amounts of light enter the cloud, the cloud will appear to change colors.

As a matter of fact, clouds are nearly transparent.

 

[SDdriver]

The more a cloud becomes saturated with water the darker it gets until it rains and dissapates. Usually when you see a very dark cloud that means it is reaching it's full saturation point and will soon dump it's load.

See ya.