aka...science room
rain
Look out of the window. Surprise! It's raining again.
Rain clouds are easy to spot since they’re dark grey and threatening. They are so deep and full of large drops of water that light cannot pass through them. When the drops become too heavy to be kept in the cloud by moving air, they fall as raindrops.
Weather forecasters try to predict when rain is on its way by measuring air pressure. Areas of low air pressure, where the air is rising, are called depressions. Depressions are often linked with rain, clouds and wind and so spotting a depression as it starts to form can give warning of rain to come.
Radar can be used to monitor rainfall. Radar signals are reflected by rain and the intensity of the reflection shows how heavy the rain is.
If you live in Manchester, you’re probably used to the rain. Manchester is on the west side of the country, and gets much more rain than the places in the east.
The prevailing wind across the UK comes from the west so most of our weather blows in from the Atlantic. Rain-laden clouds that have formed out at sea have to rise to pass over the high ground in the west. As the clouds rise, they are no longer able to keep hold of the water and it falls as rain.
But Manchester is by no means the rainiest place. That dubious honour goes to the Lake District.
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