Theoretical Studies on the Motions of Cloud and Precipitation Particles—A Review

Abstract

The theoretical studies on the flow fields around falling cloud and precipitation particles are briefly reviewed. The hydrodynamics of these particles, collectively called hydrometeors, are of central importance to cloud development and dissipation, which impact both the short-term weather and long-term climate processes. This review focuses on the solutions of the appropriate Navier–Stokes equations around the falling hydrometeor, particularly those obtained by numerical methods. The hydrometeors reviewed here include cloud drops, raindrops, cloud ice crystals, snow aggregates, conical graupel, and smooth and lobed hailstones. The review is made largely in chronological order so that readers can obtain a sense of how the research in this field has progressed over time. Although this review focuses on theoretical studies, brief summaries of laboratory experiments and field observations on this subject are also provided so as to substantiate the calculation results. An outlook is given at the end to describe future works necessary to improve our knowledge in this area.