Why is Water Clear in Some Cases, But Obscured in Storms? - Physics Explained

You can see through a large bottle of water or to the bottom of a deep swimming pool because the water is relatively clear. This means that the water does not contain a lot of particles that can scatter light. When light travels through water, some of the light is scattered by the particles in the water. This scattering is what makes water look cloudy or murky.

In a tropical rainstorm, the water droplets are very small and they are close together. This causes a lot of scattering of light, which is why it is difficult to see through a tropical rainstorm. The whiteout conditions are caused by the multiple scattering of light by the water droplets. This scattering causes the light to be reflected back towards the viewer, instead of being transmitted through the rain.