Interesting Facts About Rain2 photos

Most people know what rain is, but few realize how many unusual and interesting facts are associated with it. For example, in Thailand, rain only occurs at night, while in certain places it happens exclusively during the siesta time. In Ohio, there’s a town called Winsburg where it rains on July 29th every year for over a hundred years—surprising, isn’t it? In Portugal, if it rains, it’s considered a valid reason not to go to work. In Uganda, there are 250 stormy days per year. In Botswana, the local currency is called “rain,” and people greet each other with “pula” meaning rain. But even in the rain, you might not get wet… In the desert, for instance, because the raindrops evaporate before reaching the ground. Sometimes, instead of rain, it snows hail—in 1986, hail in the city of Gopalganj killed 92 people, with some hailstones weighing over a kilogram.

Every year, about 519,000 cubic kilometers of water fall to Earth as rain, and the highest annual rainfall is recorded in Cherrapunji. Even the game of darts originated because of rain. In 17th-century England, forecasters who mispredicted the weather faced execution. Today, we can artificially induce rain by releasing substances like dry ice into clouds. The concept of radio weather forecasts also came from rain: a radio station owner, caught in a downpour, started creating daily weather programs.

When our weather center says “short-term rain,” it means the rain will last less than three hours. If they say “rain expected,” it means the rain will continue for at least half a day.