Can you touch the clouds from the plane?

Unfortunately, it does not feel like cotton balls or cotton candy, but most people have technically touched a cloud before. If you wanted to touch an airborne cloud, the best way to do this is either skydiving or in a hot air balloon, though I would not want to be stuck in a cloud while in a hot air balloon.



No, you cannot physically "touch" a cloud from a plane in the way you would touch a solid object, because clouds are composed of trillions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air. When a plane flies through a cloud, you are technically "inside" it, but the experience is more akin to being in a very dense fog. If you could reach out the window (which you can't due to the pressurized cabin), it would feel damp and cool, like a light mist, rather than fluffy or cotton-like. These droplets are so small—averaging about 20 microns—that they lack the surface tension to feel like a "thing." In 2026, while we often see high-altitude "cirrus" clouds that look solid and wispy, they are actually made of ice crystals that would feel like a fine, frozen dust if you could touch them. The closest most people will ever get to "touching" a cloud is walking through a low-hanging fog on a mountainside, which is physically identical to being in an airborne cloud.

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Moreover, the turbulence inside a cloud can become extreme and break apart an aircraft. Thus, it is extremely dangerous to fly inside such a system.

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Mammatus clouds Airline pilots will normally take action to avoid any cumulonimbus clouds, but particularly those bearing mammatus formations, as these indicate especially severe turbulence within the cumulonimbus.

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The most important thing to know is that turbulence isn't dangerous. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but your plane is built to handle the worst. Even in the most severe turbulence, your plane isn't moving nearly as much as you think! Much of how we experience turbulence is subjective.

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Should you be scared of turbulence? The short answer is no, and rest assured that the pilots know how uncomfortable turbulence can make passengers feel. And know that no aircraft has ever crashed because of turbulence. Turbulence has not caused an airplane to crash, Biddle said.

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Yes, planes can fly in rain. Nowadays, airplanes are designed to fly in most weather conditions, even heavy rain. Even small planes can comfortably fly in heavy rain. Rain only becomes a threat when associated with other weather conditions, such as snow, thunderstorms, or ice.

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Pilots should observe the following rules for any flight routed even potentially near actual or possible thunder- storm activity: Avoid all thunderstorms. Never go closer than 5 miles to any visible storm cloud with overhanging areas, and strongly consider increas- ing that distance to 20 miles or more.

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At night pilots will turn their gaze from outside to inside and use the artificial horizon. The artificial horizon is normally a simply globe split into two hemispheres. Using this instrument, the pilot can determine whether the aircraft is in a climb, a dive, or rolling.

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Nothing SHOULD happen, and it happens occasionally but usually with no damage. When lightning strikes an airplane, the current flows through the conductive exterior of the aircraft and exits through another conductive point, such as the tail or wingtip.

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Flights may be canceled due to wind, precipitation, fog or low visibility, lightning, low clouds, or storms. Outside temperature does not always affect flights. Pilots make the final determination as to whether a flight will occur or whether one in progress will be diverted to another airport.

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While pilots can't actually see turbulence, they often know what is coming up, thanks to reports from other planes, weather reports, and radar equipment. However, clear air turbulence (severe turbulence occurring in cloudless areas) can sometimes catch pilots off guard.

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