The DEWs on helicopters are still only clear-weather weapons. It has always been known. I worked on the ROLAND anti-aircraft missile and it had a clear-weather guidance mode (optical tracking by operator) and a bad-weather mode (radar). Why the difference? Better accuracy with optical tracking, but no good in the rain. (Think about it. With a laser, you still have to SEE the target. But clouds will soak up infrared radiation like a sponge. Water aerosols was always our nemesis.)

Yes, satellite laser weapons require lots of power, especially to engage the ground. So much power (and aperture diameter), that a geostationary orbit is out of the question.

Drones are smaller than helicopters and any laser would be so small, you could achieve the same result by crashing the drone into the target.

In fact, the chief use of tactical lasers in the field would be as an anti-drone weapon. Fast-acting with rapid retargeting. Clear weather would be suitable, because drones require clear weather to do their work.