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Why do clouds float?

A cloud is a collection of water droplets and ice crystals. When a water-laden cloud grows too heavy, precipitation falls as rain, snow or hail. The water droplets are so light that their terminal velocity is super slow. Updrafts of rising air keep the coalesced droplets suspended, even as they gradually fall. A cloud is the visible result of vertical motion and air mixing with water — while the droplets fall slowly to the ground.