<p>A lady was telling me that the lower clouds were contrails left from plane exhausts. I looked up and there were none I could see in the sky she pointed to Stratocumulus Clouds. I did not want to tell here she is wrong because planes don't cruise that low, but it did make me think.</p>

<p>Can contrails and/or sound coming from the engines create clouds or rain early if the conditions are right?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-04T04:20:12.907Z
This would be an interesting question that I don't think is directly answered by other questions on the site, if it were refocused to ask about the effects of contrails - i.e., the legitimate phenomenon that's related to aircraft engines, rather than the idea of "chemtrails" which open up a whole world of conspiracy nonsense (see https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/3009/why-arent-there-more-questions-and-concerns-about-chemtrails)
dplmmr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-04T16:51:01.397Z
I'm going to edit in contrails for chem trails. "Chem trails" is a crackpot concept. The effects of contrails on cloudiness is not. If the OP wants to revert my edit, fine ... but I'll vote to close on the basis of crackpottery.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-04T18:16:45.603Z
@DavidHammen thanks. Exhaust fumes and the plane possibly releasing sewage was the only chemicals I was thinking of.
Muze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-05T00:01:52.317Z
The correct spelling is "contrail," not "con trail," at least according to [Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrail).
BillDOe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-05T17:32:23.043Z
Were contrails a major source of rain we ought to have seen an increase in rain everywhere planes fly over the past decades. Briefly looking at historical rainfall anomaly maps this does not seem to fit.
Anders Sandberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-06T01:48:21.270Z
@AndersSandberg But [Lightning follows shipping lanes](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/7jrjcq/lightning_follows_shipping_lanes_particles_in/).
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-06T04:01:50.237Z
@KeithMcClary Yes, but I suspect ship wakes and exhaust are not the same meteorologically as contrails.
Anders Sandberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-06T22:53:40.687Z
@AndersSandberg yes maybe similar but I would like to think that altitude would also be a factor.
Muze
<clouds><atmospheric-chemistry><rain><particulates>
Can airplanes trigger rain?
Muze
# Can airplanes trigger rain?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-04)

A lady was telling me that the lower clouds were contrails left from plane exhausts. I looked up and there were none I could see in the sky she pointed to Stratocumulus Clouds. I did not want to tell here she is wrong because planes don't cruise that low, but it did make me think.

Can contrails and/or sound coming from the engines create clouds or rain early if the conditions are right?

**Tags:** clouds, atmospheric-chemistry, rain, particulates

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This would be an interesting question that I don't think is directly answered by other questions on the site, if it were refocused to ask about the effects of contrails - i.e., the legitimate phenomenon that's related to aircraft engines, rather than the idea of "chemtrails" which open up a whole world of conspiracy nonsense (see https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/3009/why-arent-there-more-questions-and-concerns-about-chemtrails)  
> **username_2**: I'm going to edit in contrails for chem trails. "Chem trails" is a crackpot concept. The effects of contrails on cloudiness is not. If the OP wants to revert my edit, fine ... but I'll vote to close on the basis of crackpottery.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 thanks. Exhaust fumes and the plane possibly releasing sewage was the only chemicals I was thinking of.  
> **username_3**: The correct spelling is "contrail," not "con trail," at least according to [Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrail).  
> **username_4**: Were contrails a major source of rain we ought to have seen an increase in rain everywhere planes fly over the past decades. Briefly looking at historical rainfall anomaly maps this does not seem to fit.  
> **username_5**: @username_4 But [Lightning follows shipping lanes](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/7jrjcq/lightning_follows_shipping_lanes_particles_in/).  
> **username_4**: @username_5 Yes, but I suspect ship wakes and exhaust are not the same meteorologically as contrails.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 yes maybe similar but I would like to think that altitude would also be a factor.  

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## 0 answers

