| Drop Size | Terminal Velocity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain Type | mm | in | m/sec | miles/hr |
| Light Stratiform Rain (.04'' per hour) | ||||
| Small Drop | .5 | .02 | 2.06 | 4.6 |
| Large Drop | 2.0 | .08 | 6.49 | 14.4 |
| Moderate Stratiform Rain (.25'' per hour) | ||||
| Small Drop | 1.0 | .04 | 4.03 | 8.9 |
| Large Drop | 2.6 | .10 | 7.57 | 16.1 |
| Heavy Thundershower (1.0'' per hour) | ||||
| Small Drop | 1.2 | .05 | 4.64 | 10.3 |
| Large Drop | 4.0 | .16 | 8.83 | 19.6 |
| Largest Possible Drop | 5.0 | .20 | 9.09 | 20.2 |
| Hailstone | 10 | 0.4 | 10.0 | 22.2 |
| Hailstone | 40 | 1.6 | 20.0 | 44.4 |
Sources:
R.R. Rogers, A Short Course in Cloud Physics, 2 ed. Pergamon Press, 1979
H. Byers, General Meteorology, 3 ed.McGraw-Hill, 1959
H.R. Pruppacher, Microstructure of Atmospheric Clouds and Precipitation,
in Clouds: Their Formation, Optical Properties and Effects, P. Hobbs and A. Deepak, eds.,Academic Press, 1981.