What are rainbands?

Rainbands are groups of clouds that move together and bring rain to a place, just like lines of friends walking together through a puddle.

Imagine you're playing in the park on a rainy day, and suddenly a line of your friends comes running in, all holding umbrellas. Each friend is like a cloud, they’re all moving together, and when they get close to you, they bring rain with them. That’s what rainbands do!

Rainbands are made up of many small clouds that form a line. These lines can be long or short, and they move across the sky like a parade. When the clouds in the rainband get close to the ground, they drop raindrops, just like your friends would splash you with water from their umbrellas.

Sometimes, rainbands bring light drizzle, like when your friend only taps you lightly with their umbrella. Other times, they can cause heavy rain, like when all your friends jump into a puddle together and spray you with water!

Rainbands are common during storms, and you might see them moving across the sky like waves in the ocean.