Tiny cloud hotspots drive rain initiation, reshaping forecasts
Scientists using MPI-DS's CloudKite balloon-kite analyzed low-level warm clouds near Barbados and found that raindrop formation concentrates in small, localized hotspots where droplets are densely packed, increasing collision rates and triggering rain; this localized clustering helps explain how rain begins in warm clouds and could improve climate and weather forecasts, with future flights planned over the Amazon, Baltic Sea, and Finland.