In-cloud motions shape warm-rain production in marine clouds: Evidence from multiyear observations.

Marine stratocumulus clouds routinely support warm-rain formation, with over 56% of cloudy columns showing precipitation beneath cloud base at LWP <130 g m -2.

• Why it matters: Understanding warm-rain processes is crucial for accurate climate modeling and weather prediction, yet the controlling mechanisms remain uncertain, especially across different cloud regimes.
• What they did: Using multiyear observations from four oceanic regions, the study compares precipitation properties beneath stratocumulus and cumulus clouds, focusing on liquid water path and cloud dynamics.
• The result: Findings reveal that cloud-regime properties influence warm precipitation more than regional variability, with stratocumulus supporting collision-coalescence growth and cumulus exhibiting stronger updrafts and alternative processes, highlighting the need for improved parameterizations of small-scale dynamical effects.