Instead it pulls apart when it grows to around 4 millimeters or more. This time, the surface tension loses and the large raindrop ceases to exist. Once the size of a raindrop gets too large, it will eventually break apart in the atmosphere back into smaller drops.

The surface tension at the top allows the raindrop to remain more spherical while the bottom gets more flattened out.Įven as a raindrop is falling, it will often collide with other raindrops and increase in size. At the top, small air circulation disturbances create less air pressure. The reason is due to their speed falling through the atmosphere.Īir flow on the bottom of the water drop is greater than the airflow at the top. Flattened on the bottom and with a curved dome top, raindrops are anything but the classic tear shape. The raindrop becomes more like the top half of a hamburger bun. The reason is the flow of air around the drop.Īs the raindrop falls, it lose that rounded shape. On smaller raindrops, the surface tension is stronger than in larger drops. The cause is the weak hydrogen bonds that occur between water molecules. This surface tension is the 'skin' of a body of water that makes the molecules stick together. Raindrops start to form in a roughly spherical structure due to the surface tension of water. High in the atmosphere, water collects on dust and smoke particles in clouds.

Importance of raindrop shape