At first glance, a cloud drifting across a bright sky looks light, soft, and harmless. But the reality is far more surprising: clouds are incredibly heavy.

A Million Pounds in the Sky

Take a typical cumulus cloud, the puffy white kind often seen on sunny afternoons. Though it appears fluffy and weightless, it actually contains millions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air. Scientists estimate that the combined weight of a single cumulus cloud can easily exceed one million pounds—roughly the weight of 100 elephants.

Why Don’t They Fall?

The key lies in density and distribution. Each droplet is microscopic, so light that rising air currents can easily carry it. These countless droplets are spread across an enormous volume of atmosphere, making the overall cloud less dense than the surrounding air. This density difference, paired with the upward push of warm air, keeps clouds floating above our heads.

A Delicate Illusion

In truth, a cloud is less like a solid object and more like a fine mist stretched over kilometers of sky. What looks like a fluffy, solid mass from the ground is actually billions of nearly weightless particles suspended in perfect balance.

The Science of Wonder

This delicate play of physics explains why something so unimaginably heavy can drift effortlessly across the horizon. It’s a reminder that the everyday wonders above us often hold secrets of scale, balance, and beauty—turning ordinary skies into extraordinary science.