Interesting Facts about the Rain

Titia is interested in photography, poetry, family, art, dogs, cats, insects, wildlife, history, war, camping, writing, and the environment.

Interesting Facts About The Rain - Introduction

I've always loved the rain and I don't care if it gets me soaking wet. While many of my peers wished it was sunny, I found the rain quite peaceful. When I was in college (in Holland) lot of times when it was raining, I used to put on my rain suit, grab my bike and crossed the city for hours, until I literally was soaking wet and when it comes to being caught in a downpour, I am the last person you will see running for shelter.

I love to hear the rain hit the roof, when I'm working on my articles. My fascination does not end with rain, equally as interesting are storms, hurricanes and even blizzards. In this article I'll show you some interesting facts about the rain in text and photos.

In between you'll find some quotes about the rain.

Clouds that thunder do not always rain.

— Armenian Proverb

Interesting Facts About The Rain - Little Known Rain Facts

Everybody Knows What Rain Is, but Do You Know Where It Comes From?

• Rain is simply recycled water that has evaporated from our oceans, rivers, lakes and streams.

• Raindrops form from ice and/or snow crystals at the cloud level. Oddly enough rain starts out as a flat oval and then as it falls it changes into the classic teardrop shape. Rain drops usually range in size from .02 inches to .031 inches.

• This rain then can fall at speeds up to 22 MPH. Rain is typically classified into two types: light and heavy rain.

• Light rain is considered to be an accumulation of no more than .10 inches per hour while heavy rain is anything more than .30 inches of rain per hour.

April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain.

— T. S. Eliot

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather just different kinds of good weather.

— John Ruskin

If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with a little rain.

— Dolly Parton

Interesting Facts About The Rainbow

A rainbow is in fact nothing else than the reflection of sunlight upon raindrops, which results in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky in the form of a multicolored arch. Sometimes we see only part of it, sometimes we see the whole arch and if we're very lucky there are two rainbows showing at the same time.

When you see dark clouds and the (low) sun is shining at the same time, then look for the rainbow. You'll always find the rainbow opposite of the sun. Why? That's how it works with reflections. It's magic and it always makes me happy when I see a rainbow.

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Interesting Fact:

A single rainbow always shows red on the inside and purple on the outside. When there's double rainbow however, the second one always shows the purple on the inside and the red on the outside. Have you ever noticed that? It all has to do with the way the light is reflected.

There's this widely spread legend saying that where the rainbow touches ground, there's a pot of gold. Many have searched, but no one has ever found it as far as I know, including me.

I don't believe in pessimism. If something doesn't come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it's going to rain, it will.

— Clint Eastwood

Interesting Facts: Wettest Places In The USA

About 9.179 weather stations in the USA are collecting information for the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. Not every place gets the same amount of rain.

The information below is from long-term historical averages based on the weather from 1981 to 2010.

Places In The USA With The Most Rainy Days In A Year

Rainiest Places In The USA

Interesting Facts About The Rain

Interesting Facts About the Rain - Rainest Places in the US

Mobile, Ala.: 67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days

Pensacola, Fla.: 65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days

New Orleans, La.: 64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days

West Palm Beach, Fla.: 63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days

Lafayette, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days

Baton Rouge, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days

Miami, Fla.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days

Port Arthur, Texas: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days

Tallahassee, Fla.: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days

Lake Charles, La.: 58 inches average annual rainfall; 50 average annual rainy days

For more information visit the MSNBC website for more information about rainiest cities in the US

Photo is taken near my house.

There's always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down.

— Don Delillo

Hurricanes And Tornadoes On Video - They Are Powerful And Frightfully Destructive

Where I live - The Netherlands - we don't actually get real big hurricanes like they frequently get in the States. Whenever I see hurricane news on the telly, I wonder why people still live in an area that gets hurricanes and tornadoes every year.

Are you getting used to those destructive storms? I really don't know if I would get used to it.

Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.

— John Updike

Acid Rain On BBC iScience

Storm With Rain Has A Powerful Force

The photo below was taken through my front window, showing the tremendous force of a stormy rain, causing the breaking off of a big branche of a beautiful Weeping Willow across the street.

Results Of A Stormy Rain

Hurricanes And Tornadoes Are Dangerous Calamaties

Though hurricanes and tornadoes both are destructive powers of nature, they are two different calamaties.

Hurricanes:

Hurricanes are formed above the water of oceans in tropical areas. There are 3 different stages:

1. Up to 39 mph = Tropical Depression

2. Up to 75 mph = Tropical Storm

3. Above 75 mph = Hurricane

Hurricanes have names which are related to the places where they start. If a hurricane starts in the Indian Ocean, it's called a Cyclone.

Tornadoes:

Tornadoes are formed above land when a cold front meets a warm front. Tornadoes occor a lot in some parts of the USA, destroying everything on its path. The three stages of Tornadoes:

1. Up to 110 mph - lasting 1-10 minutes = Weak Tornado.

2. Up to 110 - 205 mph - lasting about 20 minutes = Strong Tornado.

3. Above 200 mph - lasting about one hour = Violent Tornado

If you're interested in Hurricanes and Tornadoes, don't hesitate to click one of the links below. They bring you to interesting websites.

Hurricanes and Tornadoes

• Hurricane vs. Tornado: What's the difference? - YouTube
  What's the difference between a hurricane and a tornado? I'm Storm Shield Meteorologist Jason Meyers. They're both a testament to Mother Nature's fury. They ...

Interesting Facts About The Rain - Tornadoes

I think God invented rain to give dead people something to complain about.

— David Brenner

Approaching Bad Weather

Rainy Day At The Fishing Pond

I love to fish on trout and in my country that's only possible at fishing ponds. One day bad weather approached, beautiful dark clouds. I took the above photo, then turned around to see the most beautiful rainbow and if you look close you'll see it's a double rainbow.

Some people are making such thorough plans for rainy days that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine.

— William Feather

Rain Clouds Are Rolling In From The Sea Arm Westerschelde In The Netherlands

It will never rain roses; when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.

— George Eliot

Rain Cloud Photos from where I live - I live in the South-West of The Netherlands

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For after all, the best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Raindrops on my front window - Time to write a Haiku

April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain.

— T. S. Eliot

Interesting Websites With Interesting Facts About Rain

I've found some interesting websites on the internet, which you can visit if you're interested in more facts about rain.

• Rain - Facts from the Encyclopedia - Yahoo! Education
  Rain - precipitation in liquid form. It consists of drops of water falling from clouds; if the drops are very small, they are collectively termed drizzle. Rain plays a key role in the hydrologic, or...
• Rainforest Information for Kids
  Helping children learn about the rainforest About rainforests
• Rain Gauge Facts | eHow.com
  Rain Gauge Facts. Rain gauges are used to measure the amount of rain in a specific area over a set amount of time. They can be simple or complex, and they do not measure frozen precipitation.

© 2011 Titia Geertman

Tell Me Your Weather Story

Racos Dustin from Europe on April 25, 2017:

That quote about pessimism really inspired me, since I am worried about the weather this weekend. I planning a trip in the mountains...I guess I should really stop worrying. Thanks ;)

Mari on January 03, 2015:

I love the rain! In fact I got fight in the rain just yesterday with a friend. I walk slow and I told her that she can go ahead of me so that she would not get as wet. We kept the same pase till we got in the car and this question came up... I said if two people got caught in the rain and both were going in the same direction except that one walked and the other ran... Which one would be much more soaked and wet? What would be your answer?

Lynn Klobuchar on July 16, 2014:

We've had way more than normal rain here in Minnesota this year. Seems clear weather patterns are changing.

cmadden on November 25, 2013:

I, too, love curling up with a good book or falling asleep to the sound of the rain - and enjoyed reading this.

SavioC on October 18, 2013:

There's nothing that beats the feel of the season's first rain, the smell of the earth. Very interesting points about the rain. Lovely.

Shinichi Mine from Tokyo, Japan on October 15, 2013:

I actually don't mind the rain and feel grateful for when it does. Great lens!

mel-kav on October 01, 2013:

Totally enjoyed your lens. Very interesting fact about the colors of a single rainbow vs a double rainbow. Well done lens.

NatureFan LM on September 02, 2013:

Great lens. Rain is extremely important to us, but only in the proper doses.

Lorelei Cohen from Canada on June 30, 2013:

I so wish that we could have some rain again here. It is scorching here as are so many parts of the US and Canada at the moment. I will certainly not complain when it starts raining again. Hope you are having a wonderful summer (or is it winter now in your part of the world?) I did not do well in social studies - can you tell?

Gardener Don on June 16, 2013:

After 7 months of winter & snow, we Canadians find rain a real treat!

julieannbrady on June 07, 2013:

I actually love the rain and will often work in my yard in the rain! In fact, I was doing that yesterday -- in the backyard picking up fallen limbs and leaves along with these finger-like seed pods. Think they came from the pine trees. When I filled my black yard bag, I came to the front and put it at the curb. I got the wildest looks from the men working on the house across the street.

Erin Mellor from Europe on May 12, 2013:

I love the rain. That's what growing up English does for you!

Laura Hofman from Naperville, IL on April 15, 2013:

Very interesting and well done lens! We need the rainy days not only for our gardens, but to really appreciate the sunny days.

Whatsittoyou from Canada on April 14, 2013:

I don't like being outside during a storm. I love sitting inside by the window watching a thunderstorm.

djroll on April 14, 2013:

Love your lens and your photos. I live in the Pacific Northwest and wouldn't want to live anywhere else at this time in my life.

PaigSr from State of Confusion on April 09, 2013:

It was not intentional but its actually raining as I am looking over this lens.

eightieschild on April 06, 2013:

I thought I was the only one who liked taking walks in the rain. Thanks for making me feel a little less weird! :)

VineetBhandari on March 26, 2013:

I love rainy season & dance of peacock

Vikk Simmons from Houston on March 25, 2013:

Living in Houston I get plenty of opportunity to enjoy rain via storms, hurricanes, and just plain rainy days. I loved your rain quotes and this lens.

LiliLove on March 24, 2013:

I love the rain and I've enjoyed my visit here. Thank you for sharing interesting facts about the rain - awesome article!

jayavi on March 20, 2013:

Enjoyed your lens. Thanks for the information. Very informative.

frankroberts on March 13, 2013:

Amazing Work Titla, This is What I Call a Perfect Lens

Annamadagan on February 25, 2013:

My goodness. This lens is just perfect! I loved learning more about rain. I just had to bless it. :)

anonymous on February 23, 2013:

This is the best design layout lense yet. Very inspiring indeed. I will be back.

uneasywriter lm on February 16, 2013:

Cool lens. Good subject!

Camile from Doha Qatar on February 13, 2013:

Rain in Qatar is like a music to my ears. Thanks for sharing these great and wonderful facts about the rain.

maryseena on February 09, 2013:

Rain is nature's way of cleaning up the mess we make! I love rains.

MemoryMistress on January 24, 2013:

Fascinating information. I especially loved the quotes on rain!

DecoratingMom411 on January 20, 2013:

Great information.

TedWritesStuff on December 25, 2012:

As Milli Vanilli said.. blame it on the rain ;-) great lens

KateH2 on November 03, 2012:

There is nothing better than having a duvet day when it's pouring outside. Snuggled up in front of the fire in your pjs, watching old films with a large mug of hot chocolate! Fabulous lens that makes me glad it's raining outside.

bossypants on October 30, 2012:

I read your lens in honor of the Storm Sandy. I don't imagine many on the East Coast of the US are loving rain, at this point! But, I loved your lens and agree with you about snuggling up when it's rainy out!

AJ from Australia on October 29, 2012:

I love the rain and loved visiting you here. Congratulations on your Purple Star with blessings.

Ahdilarum on October 29, 2012:

when the Sandy is visiting, it will always take rain with it..

Smashbooks LM on October 03, 2012:

Awesome! I live in Seattle, so yeah...rain....

Marie on September 18, 2012:

I love nature lenses and this one is really refreshing.

Lorelei Cohen from Canada on September 13, 2012:

I love the rain and I love your rain pictures. Beautiful.

sherioz on September 03, 2012:

Very informative lens. Love the photos. Blessed.

wrapitup4me on September 03, 2012:

This is a really lovely lens.Wonderful photos.

KiwiSanet on September 03, 2012:

I love the smell of dry ground after the first rain and have only last year learned that there is an English word for it: petrichor

robertzimmerman2 on September 03, 2012:

Wow, this is a great Lens on the subject, thanks!

Kathy McGraw from California on September 03, 2012:

I live close to the desert so I like when it rains, we always need it. I like watching it, walking in it, and I love that it waters the plants for free :) That sitting by a fireplace with a good book, or falling asleep to the rain sounds pretty good too.

Carol Fisher from Warminster, Wiltshire, UK on September 03, 2012:

I really like this page about rain, particularly the great pictures.

Nathalie Roy from France (Canadian expat) on September 03, 2012:

I do enjoy rain and thunderstorm. Love your rain photos

HolisticHealthC on August 30, 2012:

Great informative lens! I love rain especially when it relieves the drought we have had this summer.

vivonmattress on June 06, 2012:

I just realized now, that its a great name for my pet puppy, since it was raining when I adopted her. Perfect!

natural stress r on May 08, 2012:

I really LOVE the rain. I find it so relaxing and soothing...at least if I am home and nit fighting traffic to get home in the rain. :-)

TriciaLymeMom on March 28, 2012:

very nice....I love listening to rain :) Linked on https://hubpages.com/holidays/happy-rainy-spring-d

anonymous on March 25, 2012:

I like to watch the rain and listen to it on the roof too. I can happily sit and watch the rain through the window. I especially love thunderstorms.

Mary from Midwest on February 24, 2012:

Oddly enough I love the rain the same way you do. I will sleep better. I love to hear it hitting the roof, it's very calming to me. I don't walk in the rain but i don't care if i get caught out in it.

Nice lens.

troyreed23 on September 21, 2011:

@anonymous: yes i agree. I love the rain.

troyreed23 on September 21, 2011:

@anonymous: Yes it is. Thank you for visiting my lens

anonymous on September 20, 2011:

Nothing weird about liking rain. I'm the first to strap on my camera when it starts. I wish more people could appreciate it.

anonymous on September 14, 2011:

Rain is Wonderful! Great Lens Best wishes :)

troyreed23 on September 12, 2011:

@orange3 lm: I feel at peace when its raining weird i know ;-)

orange3 lm on September 11, 2011:

I love the rain too! Great lens.

PositiveChristi1 on September 03, 2011:

Nice lens. There are literally hundreds of songs with "rain" in the title. You missed out my favourite "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" ;-)

troyreed23 on September 02, 2011:

@RuralFrance: I love the summer rain too its great for taking walks in.

troyreed23 on September 02, 2011:

@CruiseReady: That is a good quote. I like it.

CruiseReady from East Central Florida on September 02, 2011:

A fun lens. I love the rain. About the quote "Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark," oh, so true!

troyreed23 on August 30, 2011:

@RuralFrance: Yeah I feel my happiest when I hear the sound of rain while I am trying to work or sleep. so soothing.

RuralFrance on August 30, 2011:

Fascinating lens :) Rain doesn't bother me, and as a photographer, it can give some interesting light to landscapes. I especially love summer rain, very cooling after a hot spell, As a gardener, it's very necessary! There's nothing like the sound of rain unless you have a leaky roof. Nice lens :)

anonymous on August 25, 2011:

I love the rain

Marcella24 on August 25, 2011:

thumbs up great lens

troyreed23 on August 23, 2011:

@KarenTBTEN: I have always wanted to live in Seattle. I love grey skies, mist and fog too.

KarenTBTEN on August 23, 2011:

I live in Seattle, which has such a reputation for rain, but gets fewer inches of precipitation than many cities. I like mist and fog!