We are currently having an Atmospheric River move through our area and dump tons of rain!
“What is an Atmospheric River?” you ask.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: “Atmospheric Rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. These columns of vapor move with the weather, carrying an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River.”
In our area, the Atmospheric River is referred to as the “Pineapple Express” … because all the moisture is coming from the tropics near Hawaii.
Have you ever thought about the size of a raindrop? I never have. But I learned something fascinating yesterday which I had never considered before.
“Raindrops are limited in their size. They have a tendency to disintegrate when they exceed about ¼ inch in size. The raindrop’s surface tension prevents the drop from growing too large as it falls to the Earth.” (from Inspired Evidence, by Julie von Vett & Bruce Malone)
I have never before considered the size of a raindrop. I have always taken raindrops for granted. But what if water droplets kept collecting and binding together until the raindrops grew to the size of baseballs or basketballs?? This sometimes happens with hail … baseball-size hail causes catastrophic damage! What if the same thing were to happen with raindrops?
Water is heavy! Have you ever carried water? It’s heavy! If raindrops grew to the size of basketballs, they would probably, most likely, fall with the weight of bowling balls! Can you imagine what would happen to flowers and plants and trees if bowling-ball-heavy raindrops fell? It would be catastrophic!
But another thought to consider is … if water droplets didn’t bind together enough, but remained suspended in the air as tiny droplets of fog vapor … they would be carried away by the wind so that the water never actually fell to the earth … then the plants would not be able to receive the water they need to grow.
God, in His great wisdom and love for His creation, has determined the exact size which a raindrop can grow … so that life on the Earth can be nourished and sustained. That’s amazing! And I had never before considered this.
Thank you God, for your loving care over all Creation … even when we take things for granted … and even when we don’t realize how good you are providing for us and taking care of us!
