Rain Times Two

One of the things I love about living at the float cabin is weather watching. This time of year we get lots of rain, so that's a no brainer.

One thing I've never noticed before is two types of rain happening at the same time. I was watching out our sliding glass door and saw a fine mist hitting the water beyond our deck. At the same time, huge drops were falling and making large rings on the water's surface. Rain times two.

It was hard to capture the two types of rain in a photograph. The fine misty rain was coming from a low hanging layer of stratus clouds. This is because the moisture falls as soon as it forms into droplets int he clouds. The large drops that made giant rings were from higher level cumulus clouds. They grow in size because they are carried in updrafts through the towering clouds until they become too heavy and fall. If I didn't live facing a watery front yard I might never have noticed this unusual event. -- Margy