This image shows drizzle falling from a stratocumulus cloud over the ocean.
Click on image for full size
Image Courtesy of Kimberly Comstock/University of Washington

Drizzle

Drizzle is very light rain; the water drops that make up drizzle are smaller than rain drops. Drizzle can be so light that only a millimeter of water falls to the Earth's surface in one day. It is produced by stratocumulus or stratus clouds.

The water drops that make up drizzle are small (a drop of drizzle has the same thickness as human hair) and sometimes the drizzle actually evaporates before falling to the ground. Drizzle makes it harder to see objects in the distance than on a clear day.

Last modified September 18, 2008 by Becca Hatheway.

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