Talk:Rain/Archive 1

rain vs showers
What is the difference between "showers" and "rain" as reported by meterologists? I have heard that the former is intermittent and the latter is constant, but also that the former is caused by cumulus clouds and the latter by "strato?" clouds. Which is the true definition? --Mintie 28 June 2005 23:08 (UTC)


 * Definition here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/basics_rain.shtml This should probably be included in the article.78.86.67.45 (talk) 21:26, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

That is true. Much like when people take a shower, the water turns on and off. When it rains, it rains continuously. That's why meteorologists say that we will have on and off showers throughout the day, as opposed to on and off rain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Innocent3d (talk • contribs) 17:36, 3 June 2010 (UTC) i do not know but it ℛains 65.175.134.44 (talk) 19:09, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

We often think of rain as it is "not raining" or "raining". I propose that there are phases between "not raining" and "raining" which may be described as follows. The Threat of Rain (TOR) is when there are rain drops at such infrequency or sparsity that one is able to walk in between or avoid them striking you. Not Yet Rain (NYR) is when the intensity rain drops are more than Threat of Rain (TOR), i.e. one can no longer avoid them, but there are still visible patches of dry ground. Raining (R) is the point just after Not Yet Rain (NYR) when there are no longer visible patches of dry ground.Thubendran (talk) 23:57, 24 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Interesting theory, but not appropriate for Wikipedia as it appears to be original research. But thanks anyway.  Velella  Velella Talk 08:15, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

why it rains mostly in the afternoon !
Where I live, there are frequent thunderstorms that occur during the day. But why does it occur mostly in the late afternoon (starting around 5-6pm)and then clears up.

Because of low atmospheric pressure?78.16.222.28 (talk) 15:07, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

Removed from page for discussion
I've removed the recently added note:
 * The formation of rain droplets from vapour in the atmosphere can be modelled using simplified applications of Jamesworth Pilley's molar gas theorem, which also makes use of the notable chemists' constant.

as it is unsourced, and Google search returns a total of one hit on Jamesworth Pilley - and that is to another wiki article. - Vsmith 16:41, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

About the picture
The picture of rainfall in the top-right corner - is it real? Sure looks like a photoshop tutorial.. Well, anyway it sort of displays rain..(Henningklevjer 15:37, 24 June 2006 (UTC))

Rain drop picture
Can someone please change the rain drop picture. The picture shows drop after it has bounced back, so the shape is not correct. Usual rain drops are not spherical, because of the shear forces acting on them. YashKochar 20:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Stream Rain
This article only documents rain in droplet form. However, it is known(especially near the equator) to fall in streams(like your shower) or even what looks like a solid wall of water(torrential rain). Why are neither of these types of rain documented? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.197.249.26 (talk • contribs). Erm, Hey, I did ask this question for a reason. DUR.
 * Liquids tend to separate in droplets when they fall. If you pay attention to a shower you will see that the streams are in fact compound of multiple droplets. The solid wall of water sounds extremely unlikely to me; perhaps it's what they have in Atlantis?--cloviz 04:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
 * No the solid wall of water isn't actually a solid wall of water, but rather it appears as one. What he is talking about is real and is commonly referred to as torrential rain, or monsoon(yes I'm aware this isn't the only use for the term monsoon). From a distance, it looks like a tornado, but it isn't. Up close, it looks like there's nothing but water around you. An example long distance image is this:

http://www.peoriaaz.com/emergency/images/monsoon.jpg

Also, can you get very hot rain, perhaps even scalding rain? The snare (talk) 23:18, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Poly water
Water forming chains after lightning? Can we have a source for this please? Mullet 21:29, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

--Yes, it's called the laws of physics.

Removed:
 * Rain is said to be heavier immediately after a bolt of lightning. The cause of this phenomenon is traceable to the bipolar aspect of the water molecule. The intense electric and magnetic field generated by a lightning bolt forces many of the water molecules in the air surrounding the stroke to line up. These molecules then spontaneously create localized chains of water (similar to nylon or other polymers). These chains then form water droplets when the electric/magnetic field is removed. These drops then fall as intensified rain.

for is said to be weaseliness. If it is laws of physics then provide a source. Vsmith 12:54, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Scientific name for people who like rain
Can anyone tell me what the scientific name is for a person who likes the rain? I know there is one!


 * Pluviophile. &mdash;Herbee 01:31, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

-Um I'm pretty sure only white cultures have negative conotations with rain...liking rain is the norm in most parts of the world. This is like asking for a word for people who like sunshine... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.31.142.138 (talk) 18:23, 6 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Eliophile ?

Measurement accuracy

 * The amount of rainfall [&hellip;] can be measured to the nearest 0.27 mm or 0.01 in.

Nobody in their right mind would round a measurement "to the nearest 0.27 mm"? And besides, 0.01 inch is 0.254 mm, not 0.27 mm. At least in Western Europe, meteorological services report and forecast rainfall with a 0.1 mm accuracy. See this rain gauge at KNMI, for instance. &mdash;Herbee 01:29, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

Regarding "amount of precipitation"

"light rain — when the amount of precipitation is between 250 mm - 750 mm (250 liter/m² - 750 liter/m²)" [and all other amounts, also] I think perhaps decimal points are missing from the figures. For instance, in the above example, < 250mm - 750mm is roughly equal to 10 - 29 inches of rain, for light rain. Perhaps the correct figure is 2.50mm - 7.50mm ? SueNami 20:46, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Maybe the measurement lies on / is relevant to a certain time period. It is not the same: 200 l/m2 in hour and 200 l/m2 in a day. --16:47, 10 May 2007 (UTC) Phips
 * Yes, these numbers do not make sense - a common measure would be for a 24hr period, but these figure look roughly like annual figures. I've changed them to numbers from a real journal, and that are per hour, but I don't know the standard to do references, so my reference may be a bit non-standard :-) - can someone check this? --Rob

Classifying the amount of rain

Why the cited website is taken as an authority? Seems very unprofessional. Also, I've been searching for a proper classification and I do not find a consensus: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/guide/key.html#radar http://www.bom.gov.au/info/wwords/#RAIN Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_rain_(meteorology) gives another amount in mm for a heavy rain (not the same as in this wikipedia article) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.43.234.103 (talk) 22:59, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Falling Water?
There was a number of edits that stated that rain is "falling water". These were removed, but for what reason? Is rain not water that is falling? I belive this should be mention somewhere in said artilce

Falling water can also mean water fall which is definitely not rain.

I think this page renders incorrectly
Under the firefox 1.5.0.9 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.9.163.233 (talk) 23:34, 12 February 2007 (UTC).

WHAT IS PLEASENT SMELL CAUSED BY RAIN DROPS CALLED?
What is the name given to the pleasant smell that is caused by the fall of the first few raindrops on dry earth?

I believe you are looking for the word petrichor. It is specifically related to the smell of rain after a hot/dry period, or rain falling on dry earth. - Oxford Dictionaries — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.222.205.99 (talk) 17:05, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Gee, you make me want to go outside and smell the lawn now. -Uagehry456talk 20:51, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Gee I love it too :D Amit 12:35, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Most likely it's the simple moistening of the dirt. Similar to how you can smell oil on the road much stronger when it first starts raining. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

This should help HowStuffWorks - What causes the smell after rain? you. Possible that it could be added to the article. Bidgee (talk) 15:09, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

It's OZONE. It smells kind of like a cross between "dirt" and burning hair... but has a strangely fresh smell... A very thin layer of water hits hot asphalt, rocks or something else warmer that the rain water (the smell is the most distinct when hosing down hot asphalt on a summer day). A short term chemical reaction takes place and ozone is released for a short time. I used to work in a factory making ozone generators. I know the smell of ozone. Sorry mythbustes, wrong yet again. 71.49.217.230 (talk) 01:28, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Rain in Kolkata is not fo real
Pretty sure the picture "Rain in Kolkata" is from the movie City of Joy, thus it's probably not in the public domain and probably not even real rain (if that matters). If someone can confirm, it should be removed, right? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Catxk (talk • contribs) 07:08, 7 February 2008 (UTC) hi dude.............Bold textItalic text —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.192.142.160 (talk) 16:55, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Rain contains B12
I read somewhere that rain contained vitamin B12 and was wondering if it was true. Could someone help? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.81.58.226 (talk) 19:31, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

how high?
What altitude does rain fall from? —Preceding unsigned comment added by QHand (talk • contribs) 20:47, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Formation section
The formation section needs help. It says nothing about atmospheric conditions or humidity levels. It says nothing about cold and warm air masses. It says nothing about mountain ranges. The text that is in the Formation section does an extremely poor job of explaining anything related to rain formation. With that said, could someone with some knowledge and access to reference materials expand this section? Some pictures or graphics would be nice too. Thanks. ABlake (talk) 19:53, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

North America?
The north america section mentions only locations in the u.s. With not a word of Canada, Mexico, or any of the smaller north american nations.

The section should be changed to u.s. and make a new north america section. or include more information in that section so that the title fits. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.82.121.3 (talk) 20:26, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

composition of rain
What is known about the composition of rain? Of course it's mostly water, but I would expect that it is loaded to saturation with CO2, and that the dissolved O2 content is high. I would also expect a temperature dependence, but would not care to guess whether is the temperature at formation, or the temperature near the (say, ocean) surface that is more important in controlling concentrations of gaseous components. blackcloak (talk) 07:51, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

Pattern of raindrops
The pattern in which raindrops fall seems anything but random. What is known about it? (This relates to the "walls" of torrential raindrops mentioned by a previous poster, but I'm asking more about the localized pattern in "steady" rainfall) Wnt (talk) 06:19, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Rain versus Rainfall
I think it is important to mention the diffrence between the two concepts and their use. I saw Rainfall is being redirected to rain which, I believe, is totally wrong. There is a fine line between those two "understandings", one does not mean the other and are not interchangeable, although they do imply one another and often they both are included in a meteorological reports. Aleksandr Grigoryev (talk) 17:01, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Different oxygen isotopes which fall during MCS/tropical cyclones
This definitely needs to be treated within this article, as paleotempestologists use this to time past hurricane events. It could probably be covered in the MCS article as well, now that I think more about it. Thegreatdr (talk) 11:18, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

Not really accurate ?
Again, there is claim laid to Mobile, AL for the rainiest city in the 48 contiguous states with five feet of annual rain.

Is this based on the MSNBC article two years past?

Forks, WA records an average of ten (10) feet a year. The totals for the last few years, in inches:

2003 130.28 2004 100.40 2005 110.99 2006 125.05 2007 131.66 2008 118.29

That is low of 8.37 feet and high of 10.97 feet.

Mobile, AL my foot :)

75.121.229.89 (talk) 00:36, 17 August 2009 (UTC) Skipper 17:36 PST 8.16.2009
 * There are several ways you can measure "rainiest city". First you have to define "rainiest", and then you have to define "city".  "Rainiest" can be measured by the amount, or by the number of days when it rains.  "City" can be defined by official incorporation title, size, population, etc.  You would need to know how they defined "rainiest city" to dispute the claim. Famartin (talk) 21:06, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Artificial Rain
The article does not mention anything with regards to artificial or human induced rain. I believe it would be worth adding materials in there on the subject. I do not know anything on that otherwise I would have added myself. Qadirma (talk) 09:43, 5 October 2009 (UTC)