• Question: Why doesn't it rain a lot in the summer as there is more heat so more water should evaporate and there isn't as much wind to blow it away?

    Asked by hannahhhhh to Ben, Dave, Ed, Sam, Susana on 24 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: David Briggs

      David Briggs answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      In some places it does rain more in the summer! Like the monsoon rains in India.

      However, as a general rule – at higher temperatures, the capacity of the air to hold water vapour is much greater than in cold temperatures – so the extra water in the air during summer stays in the air, whereas when it is cold, the air can’t hold all the water so it falls as rain.

    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 25 Jun 2013:

      Raining here now… so it can rain a lot in the summer!

      Weather forecast is extremely complicated and often fails because there are so many factors to take into account. Moisture, the speed at which the water vapour is travelling, winds, pressure, particles in the air, all this can influence how and when it rains.
      You actually need the warm and cold air for rain to occur, it is where they cross that water in the form of vapour (in warm air) can meet colder temperatures and condensate, becoming liquid in drops that are attracted to earth by gravity.

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