What makes the clouds turn from white to dark gray when it storms?

Question

What makes the clouds turn from white to dark gray when it storms?

Answer 1

Clouds darken because every rain drop has to have a particle of something to condense on.  Most of the time it is dust particles in the atmosphere.  When these dust particles are charged they come together.  When they come together it appears darker because many dust particles are soil...soil is dark.

Answer 2

The clouds are getting thicker and denser which causes shadows to form on them.

Answer 3

Clouds are actually all the same color (white). However, storm/rain clouds are dark because rain droplets and ice crystals block out sunlight that would go almost straight through the cloud if the rain droplets and ice crystals were not in the cloud.

It's kind of like the cloud overshadowing itself.

Answer 4

Well in actuallity the clouds are still white. When you see a could that is not white, its the angle of the sun and other factors that make it look like a different color. The reason why storm clouds appear to be gray is since they are large in size, are thick and full of moisture, they are very good at blocking out sunlight, especially at the bottom of the cloud, and that is why they have a gray or black tint. If you can actually seen storm clouds at a distance, you will see that the whole cloud is white.

So, its just a trick of nature. Storm clouds, just like any cloud, are white in color.