Why it happens that the rain clouds are on top of us but the rain never falls?
The answer above has a good point but there is more to it. We seldom think of it but, in order to rain, the cloud must be rising! Yes, and that’s what cools it down. You see, as air rises, the pressure sinks and that, by the adiabatic effect, cools it down. It is exactly the same that happens in your fridge when a compressed coolant is releases through a nozzle; it cools down. If a cloud looks heavy and ready to rain but doesn’t cool down, rain won’t happen because rain requires a further condensation of the water molecules. Rising air usually happens when the air is warmed up by the surface of the earth that is heated by the sun. This is called a convection. Air can also rise when e.g. warm air meets cold air along a polar front and the warm one climbs over the cold one. It is then called a warm front. Last, air can also rise simply because the wind (moving air) meets a mountain and has to pass over it. It is then called an orographic effect. And this is why clouds don’t “fall” on the
