A deadly—and growing—global weather phenomenon mystifies scientists. Official website: https://to.pbs.org/4tLMu4q | #novapbs An invisible, unpredictable atmospheric force is wreaking havoc across the globe, sinking superyachts and bringing down planes. Follow scientists as they race to understand these catastrophic weather events, exploring how they form, what causes their devastating impacts, and how we might someday learn to predict them. From high-tech simulations and drone expeditions into thunderclouds to possible links with climate change, join investigators on the cutting edge of research to discover what's truly behind these terrifying "rain bombs" and how we can protect ourselves from their growing power. 💙 Help us bring the universe closer to home. Your donation ensures that NOVA’s deep-space discoveries and quantum physics explorations remain free and inspiring for the next generation of scientists. Support fact-based storytelling today. https://bit.ly/48UnsrD Chapters 00:00 Introduction 05:22 What is a Rain Bomb? 12:25 How Does Hail Form? 19:24 Downbursts and Cold Pools 25:46 Accidents Caused by Downbursts 33:48 What is a Derecho? 39:46 Storm Chasing Rain Bombs 43:54 Protection Against Downbursts © 2026 WGBH Educational Foundation All rights reserved This program was produced by GBH, which is solely responsible for its content. This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://pbs.org/donate/ Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR 📰 Stay up to date on the latest science discoveries, full episodes, articles, videos, and more by signing up for NOVA's newsletter here: https://to.pbs.org/4brCC7Y 🛍️ Shop official NOVA 50th anniversary merch: https://nova-shop.org/ 🎙️ Watch our podcast, Particles of Thought: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtiOgIRVt404UGx2NBvPum4DgT5Gs-Tts Or listen wherever you get your podcasts! Rain bomb, downburst, weather documentary, extreme weather, severe thunderstorm, atmospheric science, storm chasing, flash flooding, climate change impact, meteorology documentary Follow on social for more NOVA content Twitter: https://twitter.com/novapbs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novapbs TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@novapbs PBS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBS/ X: https://twitter.com/PBS/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PBS/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/PBS/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbs
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I thought i was the only one who gets so excited about lighting and seeing how rain falls down.
10:10 that one cloud in the background looks like it's flipping us off.
Rain-Bomb. A catchy new name for a common weather phenomenon, the Cloud-burst. As much as PBS would like, We aren’t having more violent cloudbursts. What we’re having are more recordings of violent cloudbursts. Most everyone now has a Camera 🎥. Good film pbs. Though quite dramatic.
This is my FAVORITE kind of NOVA documentary - no host on screen pretending to hold things that don't exist but will be animated in later, no fabricated drama added in, no cartoons, just clearly conveyed information shared by people who respect our intelligence.
Other people having an issue with the term rain bomb- If you've been in one Rain Bomb is the most apt. Boom. Technically yes a microburst but it's getting weird out there and it's definitely bombing rain. The kind of rain where one sec it's dry the next you're looking for higher ground.
The local weather guy did a conference to my city government once and said basically the only difference between a microburst and an ef-2 tornado, is the microburst has straight line winds and the tornado rotates. You can see the difference from the air after it's over. The trees after a microburst all lay outward from the center, and in a tornado they overlap along a line. I remember when one downed a plane in Charlotte, NC. I actually drove through the storm about 30 minutes before the plane crashed. It was really nasty.
Are you trying to get us ready for monsoons in Arizona this year? 2026?! I'M READY BABY bring on the rain.
6:32 Dude, same. Phoenix storms are just amazing. When we were little we would count the strikes, always hoping for a bunch, shrieking with joy as the thunder crashed.
Glad to see PBS nova is still doing gold standard production work.
Huh. This explains why I always feel a bit leery of huge clouds with dark bases whenever I'm driving to Vegas.
In 1980 we had a Derecho hit A 12 mile area in Dearborn Michigan that up rooted trees, tore power lines down lighting up fences, and we didn't get power back for a month and didn't get a phone back for over a month and a half. My mothers work place had a wall collapse, nobody was injured.
PBS IS THE BEST
In the 60's we called them ,cloudburst, but they lasted for hours and didn't have hurricane force winds
I know that dude :50 is a scientist and all, but that is some super unsafe bandsaw technique...
ive got a pretty bad phobia of storms, but seeing the storm chasers acting not only calm but delighted about the weather really helped to quell some of the fears
I’ve never heard of “rain bombs”. Meteorologists have been calling them downbursts for decades.
Wow! Great program. I learned a lot and the photography was incredible!
PECOS HANK!!! My favorite Weather Youtuber.
When I lived in Phoenix I loved watching the development of the monsoon thunderstorms on the horizon. Some of the more fierce storms would make it in to the city putting on a great show.
YAY ! Hank and Mike in one Docu ! Great Topic and all the awesome Footage from both in here.