Editing Cloudburst (section)

==Properties==

Rainfall rate equal to or greater than {{convert|100|mm|in}} per hour is a cloudburst.<ref name="The Saakal Times">{{cite news|url=http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=5149259322361054146&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsDate=20101104&NewsTitle=IT%20WAS%20A%20CLOUDBURST,%20SAYS%20WEATHER%20SCIENTIST|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521120739/http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=5149259322361054146&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsDate=20101104&NewsTitle=IT%20WAS%20A%20CLOUDBURST,%20SAYS%20WEATHER%20SCIENTIST|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 21, 2014|title= It was a cloudburst, says weather scientist|publisher=news.saakaltimes.com |access-date=2010-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=What is a cloudburst? |newspaper=Rediff News, India |date=August 1, 2005 |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/01gi1.htm }}</ref> However, different definitions are used, e.g. the Swedish weather service [[SMHI]] defines the corresponding Swedish term "skyfall" as {{convert|1|mm|in}} per minute for short bursts and {{convert|50|mm|in}} per hour for longer rainfalls. The associated convective [[cloud]] can extend up to a height of {{convert|15|km|mi}} above the ground.<ref>{{Cite news|title= Cloud Burst over Leh (Jammu & Kashmir)|url= http://www.imd.gov.in/doc/cloud-burst-over-leh.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120315191633/http://www.imd.gov.in/doc/cloud-burst-over-leh.pdf|archive-date= 2012-03-15}}</ref>

During a cloudburst, more than {{convert|20|mm|in}} of rain may fall in a few minutes. The results of cloudbursts can be disastrous. Cloudbursts are also responsible for [[flash flood]] creation.

Rapid precipitation from [[cumulonimbus cloud]]s is possible due to the [[Langmuir circulation|Langmuir precipitation process]] in which large droplets can grow rapidly by coagulating with smaller droplets which fall down slowly. It is not essential that cloudbursts occur only when a cloud clashes with a solid body like a mountain, they can also occur when hot water vapor mingles into the cold resulting in sudden condensation.