70 Facts About Rain That Probably You don't Know

Facts About Rain: Rain is the process in which the water vapor in the atmosphere cools down and becomes liquid again and falls on the earth. The water in the clouds falls to the earth in separate droplets. All the drops that fall from high clouds can not reach the ground. If there is dry air between the cloud and the ground, a considerable amount of small droplets will re-evaporate. If even a single drop does not touch the ground, the rain is called 'Virga'. Such a phenomenon usually occurs in hot and dry desert regions.

Interesting Facts About Rain

• Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth.
• Rain is one of the six main types of precipitation.
• Rain is a key component in the Earth’s water cycle.
• Most freshwater deposits on our planet come from rain.
• Rain is liquid water that falls from a cloud in the form of droplets.
• Meteorologists can estimate how much it will rain using weather radar.
• Forests that experience high levels of rainfall are called rainforests.
• Heavy amounts of rain can cause flash flooding in a short period of time.
• Meteorologists can measure the actual amount of rainfall using a rain gauge.
• Acid rain, termed by Robert Augus Smith in 1952, is rain with a low pH level.
• Raindrops fall at a speed of 7 to 18 mph. In wind, they might fall much faster.
• The three most common type of rain clouds are cirrus, cumulus and stratus clouds.
• The majority of the Earth’s rainforests are found in South America, Africa and Asia.
• Heavy amounts of rain in short periods of time are associated with thunderstorms and hurricanes.
• Rain contains more than just water. It might contain dirt, dust, insects, grass or even chemicals.
• One droplet of water spends on average around eight days in suspension before falling back to Earth as rain.
• Small raindrops travel at about 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h), while large raindrops can travel up to 20 mph (32 km/h).
• A forest that receives between 98 and 177 inches (2,500 to 4,500 mm) of rain each year is called a rainforest.

Geographical Facts About Rain

• Even though Antarctica has all that ice, it receives little rainfall, making it the driest continent on Earth.
• The highest amount of rainfall ever recorded in one year is 22,987 mm (905.0 in) in Cherrapunji, India in 1861.
• Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth.
• Rain is the result of water vapor condensing and precipitating, forming droplets that fall from clouds due to gravity.
• Raindrops have sizes ranging from 0.1 to 9 millimeters (0.0039 to 0.3543 inch) mean diameter, above which they tend to break up.
• It provides suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation.
• There are always water vapor in the air. Warm air has more water vapor than cold air, which is why it is often humid in the summer.
• The globally averaged annual precipitation over land is 715 mm (28.1 in), but over the whole Earth it is much higher at 990 mm (39 in).
• Rain can begin as snow, but by the time it reaches the Earth’s surface, it has melted because the temperature closer to Earth is warmer.
• Rain droplets contain dissolved nitrogen that comes from the air. This free and natural fertilizer makes grass look greener after rainfall.
• Rain is also known or suspected on other planets, where it may be composed of methane, neon, sulfuric acid, or even iron rather than water.

Historical Facts About Rain

• The record for the most rain to fall in one hour goes to Holt, Missouri, on June 22nd, 1947, 12 inches (305 millimeters) of rain fell in 60 minutes.
• The record for the most rain to fall in one minute goes to Unionville, Maryland, on July 4th, 1956, 1.23 inches (31.2 millimeters) of rain fell in 60 seconds.
• Weather reporters use Doppler radar to detect rain, hail and other storms. This equipment can tell how much moisture is probably coming, as well as the wind speed.
• The record for the highest rainfall in a year goes to Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India between 1860 to 1861. 1,042 inches (26,470 millimeters) of rain fell in a 365-day period.
• Flash floods happen when it rains a lot and water rises very quickly. Flash floods are dangerous. They kill more people in the U.S. than tornadoes, earthquakes or lightning.
• The record for the most rain to fall in 24 hours goes to Cilaos, Réunion, on January 7th to 8th, 1966, 71.9 inches (1,825 millimeters) of rain fell during Tropical Storm Denise.
• Rain happens in two ways usually: as a drizzle or a shower. A drizzle is a slow, light rain that can go on for hours. A shower is a fast, heavy rain that lasts just a short while.
• The highest amount of rainfall ever recorded in 24 hours is 182.5 centimeters (71.9 inches) in Foc-Foc, La Réunion. This occurred during tropical cyclone Denise on January 8, 1966.
• In certain conditions precipitation may fall from a cloud but then evaporates or sublimes before reaching the ground. This is termed virga and is more often seen in hot and dry climates.
• At sea level and without wind, 0.5 mm (0.020 in) drizzle impacts at 2 m/s (6.6 ft/s) or 7.2 km/h (4.5 mph), while large 5 mm (0.20 in) drops impact at around 9 m/s (30 ft/s) or 32 km/h (20 mph).
• Petrichor is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra, meaning “stone”, and ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.
• Not all raindrops are created equal. The size of falling raindrops depends on several factors, including where the cloud producing the drops is located on the globe and where the drops originate in the cloud.

Psychological Facts About Rain

• Rain with high levels of acid (a low pH) is called acid rain. Caused by the release of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air (often from factories and power stations), it can be harmful to plants and animals.
• Rain was the cause of the weather forecasts on the radio. When the American owner of the station was caught in the rain, he established a new category of the weather forecasting, which talked about the rain several times a day.
• Majority of us think raindrops look like teardrops; they truly look more like the top half of a hamburger bun, flattened on the bottom and with a curved dome top. Smaller drops are called cloud droplets, and their shape is spherical.
• By average annual rainfall, the wettest place is Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India, with 11,873 millimeters (467 inches) of rain per year. Meghalaya means ‘land of the clouds’. Most of the rain occurs during the monsoon season, between June and September.
• Each second, approximately 16 million tons of water evaporates from the surface of the Earth. This 16 million tons of water is the same amount in raindrops that falls back to Earth each second. Water moves continuously in a balanced cycle based on its volume.
• Today it is possible to make up the artificial rain. Particles of dry ice thrown from the plane directly to the cumulus cloud. In a cloud, carbon dioxide is enveloped with water, and falls as a snowflake, heating on the road and turning into rain. Thus, we can combat with drought or to disperse the clouds.
• Phenomenon of Yoro Fish Rain is just too weird and looks like a hoax – but it is not! The fish rain takes place in the beginning of rainy period somewhere in May – July. It is not known when this phenomenon started – first reports are from the middle of 19th century, when first missionary Father Subirana came here.
• The vapor becomes small water droplets or ice crystals. When enough of these droplets collect together, we see them as clouds. If the clouds are big enough and have enough water droplets, the droplets bang together and form even bigger drops. When the drops get heavy, they fall because of gravity, and you see and feel rain.
• Blood rain or red rain is a phenomenon in which blood is perceived to fall from the sky in the form of rain. Cases have been recorded since Homer’s Iliad, composed approximately 8th century BC, and are widespread. Before the 17th century it was generally believed that the rain was actually blood. There is now a scientific consensus that the blood rain phenomenon is caused by aerial spores of green microalgae Trentepohlia annulata. Yellow, green, and black rain was also reported.

Friends, hope you liked this post on Interesting Facts About Rain. If you liked this post, then you must share it with your friends and Subscribe to us to get updates from our blog. Friends, If you liked our site FactsCrush.Com, then you should Bookmark it as well.