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This month is shaping up to be one of the rainiest Augusts on record in the UK
1. The average speed at which a raindrop falls is about 14mph but large raindrops can reach speeds up to 20mph.
2. The average raindrop takes little more than two minutes to reach the ground from a cloud.
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The average raindrop takes about two minutes to reach the ground from a cloud
3. Raindrops are not quite the teardrop shape they are usually depicted as. Air resistance makes the bases flatter so they are more like jelly beans.
4. According to an analysis published last year, the wettest city in the UK is Cardiff.
UK weather: August is looking like a wet one as yellow weather warning issued
Wed, August 9, 2017
With forecasts that up to 3.2in (80mm) of rain could fall across parts of the country over the next 24 hours, the Met Office has warned that more flooding of homes and businesses is possible
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A pedestrian lands on the pavement after trying to leap over a puddle as rain fell in central London
5. London and Cambridge are the driest cities.
6. You will generally stay drier if you run as fast as you can in the rain rather than walking but if you have a tailwind, running at the same speed as the wind is probably the best strategy.
7. The word “petrichor” was coined in 1964 to describe the smell of rain falling on dry ground.
8. The smell is caused by oils secreted by plants becoming trapped in bubbles which form and then explode as the rain hits the ground.
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You will generally stay drier if you run as fast as you can in the rain
9. Surprisingly, the continent that receives the lowest amount of rain and snow is Antarctica.
10. The Oxford English Dictionary has 462 entries with “rain” in their definition from mizzle (to rain in fine droplets) to drouk (drench with heavy rain)