We have two sides: the people who love rain and those who dread the sight of it. Regardless if you’re a fan or not, these weird rain facts are worth knowing, you never know when you might stumble across one of these during a fun trivia night sesh.
1. That after rain smell
Yes, it has a name, petrichor. What’s cool is that it’s not just water you’re smelling – it’s a whole mix of stuff. When raindrops hit the ground, they kick up oils from plants and bacteria living in the soil. Plus, you’ve got ozone and this compound called geosmin, which is made by bacteria. All these things come together to create that fresh, earthy smell we all love.
2. Red rain
A rare phenomena, red rain consists of a bunch of dust or sand particles floating in the atmosphere, and when the rain falls through them, it picks up that reddish color. Still, you would need quite a lot of particles to get this effect.
3. Raining animals
Ever heard of “raining cats and dogs“? Well, sometimes it actually rains animals! In certain parts of the world, like Australia and the United States, it’s been reported that fish, frogs, and even spiders have fallen from the sky during heavy rainstorms. Strong gusts of wind or even tornadoes displace the animals/insects and make it look that way. It’s no curse. It’s not the second coming of Jesus, it’s just what extreme weather conditions do.
4. Rainy record
Mother Nature doesn’t hold back when it comes to rain. The wettest place on Earth is Mawsynram, a village in India, where it’s been known to receive over 39 feet (about 11.9 meters) of rainfall in a single year!
5. Virga
Ever looked up at the sky during a rainstorm and noticed streaks of rain seemingly falling from the clouds but never reaching the ground? That’s called virga. It happens when rain evaporates before it hits the ground because the air below is too dry.
6. Rainbows
We’ve all learned this back in school, rainbows form when sunlight refracts, or bends, through raindrops in the air, creating a spectrum of colors. But here’s a mind-blowing fact: rainbows are actually full circles! We usually only see a half-circle because the ground blocks the bottom half. So next time you see a rainbow, imagine it completing the circle somewhere out there. If you’re lucky you might see a full circle rainbow from a plane.
7. Rain on other planets
Earth isn’t the only place in the solar system where rain falls. On Saturn’s moon, Titan, it rains methane instead of water. Yes, the concept of methane rain apparently is a real thing. And on Venus, it rains sulfuric acid. So next time you complain about rain, just be thankful it’s not acid or methane falling from the sky!
8. The desert isn’t the “driest” place
Believe it or not, the Antarctic gets less rain than your usual desert. And Dry Valleys, several snow-free valleys in Antarctica, have seen no rain for nearly 2 million years.
9. Raindrop shapes
Raindrops aren’t tear-shaped like you might think. When raindrops fall through the air, they can get flattened or even shaped like hamburger buns due to air resistance. Scientists call these non-spherical raindrops “hamburger raindrops.”
10. Negative rainfall
In parts of the world like Chile’s Atacama Desert, rainfall is so rare that sometimes the rain that falls is so light that it evaporates before it even reaches the ground so there’s not that much rain to account for. This phenomenon is known as “negative rainfall.”
11. 24/7 Rain
If you’re a pluviophile (someone who loves rain), I think we’ve found the perfect destination for you: Cherrapunji, India. This place holds the record for the longest period of continuous rainfall – it once rained continuously for 186 days straight!
That’s all from us! 12 weird rain facts that will probably surprise you. Which was your favorite? Do you know of any other rain-related fact that would be worth sharing? The comments await.
How fast do raindrops fall?
On average, smaller raindrops with diameters around 0.5 millimeters might take about 1 to 2 minutes to reach the ground from cloud base heights typically encountered in thunderstorms (around 1 to 2 kilometers or 0.6 to 1.2 miles). Larger raindrops with diameters around 5 millimeters might reach the ground in less than a minute from similar heights.
If this article has gotten your interest you should consider reading Weirdest Clouds some clouds are Like An Art In the Sky.
What is the hardest it can rain?
71.8 inches (1.825 meters) over 24 hours. It happened on Jan 7, 1966, in Cyclone Denise in Foc-Foc, La Réunion, which is an island in the Indian Ocean.
What is the hottest rain ever?
119°F in Imperial, California.
