Rain

RECORDS

A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumped a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, Australia in 1986.

The most rain ever recorded in one minute is 1.22 inches (31.2 millimeters), which fell in Unionville, Maryland, on July 4, 1956. During the thunderstorm, a combination of factors, including a warm and moist air mass, as well as a strong thunderstorm updraft, likely contributed to the intensity of the rainfall.  The record-breaking rainfall caused flooding and mudslides in Unionville. Several homes and businesses were damaged, and one person was killed.

In 1923 it rained on the Hebridean island of Islay for 89 days in a row — a British record.

With average annual rainfall as high as 12,000 mm (470 in) in some areas, Meghalaya, a state in Northeast India, is the wettest place on earth.

López de Micay in Colombia is the wettest town in the world, with an average of 315 rainy days a year (the least rainy month is February, with 23 rainy days), and an average of 16,000 mm (630 inches) of rainfall annually.

Surprisingly, the continent that receives the lowest amount of rain and snow is Antarctica.

The largest raindrops ever recorded, between 8.8 mm and 1 cm, were observed by scientists in the clouds above Brazil (1995) and the Marshall Islands (1999).

The wettest spot in the world is located on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands.. Mount Waialeale consistently records rainfall at the rate of nearly 500 inches per year.

WORDS AND PHRASES 

The phrase 'take a rain check' originated in the custom of issuing spectators with a ticket for another game if the baseball match for which they had paid was interrupted or cancelled because of rain. The first rain checks were given to baseball fans in the 1870s.

"Petrichor" is a term for the way it smells outside after rain. It was coined in 1964.

FUN RAIN FACTS

The "petrichor" smell is caused by oils secreted by plants becoming trapped in bubbles which form and then explode as the rain hits the ground.

The average raindrop falls at 7 miles per hour.

Very hard rain would pour down on you at the rate of 18-20 mph.

On average Monday is the least rainy day of the week. This is thought to be a result of man-made pollution decreasing over the weekend.

That odor after rain is caused by bacteria called actinomycetes.

All raindrops have a speck of dirt inside them. Raindrops can only form when they have something to condense on to, thus the need for a particle of dirt.

Rain contains vitamin B12.

In Nova Scotia, it’s illegal to water the grass while it’s raining outside.

The staff in Japanese department stores will offer to put a plastic cover on your shopping bag when it rains. All of the staff knows there is precipitation outside without looking because of a special BGM played only when it rains.

Saturn's largest moon Titan is the only other known world with seasonal rainfall. Raindrops there are twice as big as raindrops on Earth and fall as slow as snowflakes. Also, they're made of liquid methane, not water.

Sources Daily Express, Europress Encyclopedia.