Home / Editor's Pick /

Weather explained: Why are clouds white?

05:00 PM
June 3, 2023

Weather explained
Why are clouds white?

Cumulus clouds

We don't tend to think too much about the clouds drifting overhead, but what causes their coloration is more complex than you may think.

Clouds get their color due to light from the sun being white. As light passes through a cloud, it interacts with water droplets, these are much larger than the atmospheric particles that exist in the sky.

When sunlight hits particles in the atmosphere, blue light is scattered away stronger than any other color because of its shorter waves. This gives the impression that the sky is blue.

Whereas in a cloud, sunlight becomes scattered by bigger water droplets which scatter colors equally resulting in sunlight remaining white in appearance.

Sometimes when clouds are grey, this is caused by the same scattering that results in them being white.

When light is scattered in a cloud it is usually sent back upwards, out to the sides of the cloud, leaving the tops and sides of the cloud whiter than the base which receives less light.

At sunrise or sunset, clouds may take on a red or orange color due to sunrise and sunset. The sun is very low in the sky and so light must travel through more of the atmosphere. As a result, more blue light is scattered and deflected away which allows more red and yellow light to reach the earth.

Weather & Radar USA editorial team
More on the topic
Weather radar with dust plumes and webcam view of Mallorca with milky skies.
Saturday, August 30, 2025

Sky coloured orange

Saharan dust over Spain
Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Pacific tsunami warning

Strong quake off Russia's east coast
Dark sky full of stars. Several shooting stars fly in different directions – typical of a meteor shower.
Attention not translate yet!Saturday, August 16, 2025

Night sky photos

Night sky in the spotlight
All weather news
This might also interest you
Friday, August 22, 2025

Daily Briefing

Stormy central Plains and Midwest
Thursday, August 21, 2025

Condado Broward

Growing wildfire, weather doesn't help
Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Daily Briefing

Cooler air sticks around for many
All articles
Weather & Radar

www.weatherandradar.com

instagramfacebookthreadsContact uslinkList
Privacy policy | Legal info | Accessibility statement