Rain Day - July 29th 

This special day is set aside to honor the humble, yet oh so powerful raindrop. Defined as water condensed from atmospheric moisture that falls to Earth as drops, rain has been celebrated by cultures all over the world because of its life sustaining ability.

Impress your students with these little-know bits of rain trivia:

  

Do you want fries with that rain?

 According to scientists at NASA, rain is not shaped like the iconic teardrop – any more than our actual hearts are shaped like valentine hearts! Raindrops, are, in fact, shaped like the top half of a hamburger bun.

Chris Kidd, an associate research scientist at Nasa explains that initially the moisture in the atmosphere forms into a small globe as the molecules bind together.

“As rain gets heavier it forms into the shape of a hamburger bun,” he said. But as it drops to earth, pressure from below pushes up against the drop distorting its shape until it resembles the bun.

High Speed Rain Buns

The bun shaped water bits descend from the sky at an alarming rate; they travel at 18-22 miles per hour on their journey to the Earth’s surface.

Fortunately, atmospheric friction slows the water down as it nears the surface, otherwise those “Raindrops fallin’ on my head” would be very painful. 

Rain Isn’t Water on Other Planets

On planets like Jupiter and Saturn, rain comes down as droplets of methane, neon, sulfur, and iron.

Rain is Heavy

One inch of rain on one acre of land weighs a whopping 226,000 pounds. About 1 billion tons of rain falls to the Earth each year.

Phantom Rain

In the desert, it is possible to stand it the midst of a rainstorm and never get wet. That’s because the atmosphere is so dry that the rain dries up before it ever hits the ground.

The Grass is Greener

There’s a reason that nature looks so fresh and clean after a rain. Not only does the rain wash the dust and pollen of the surface of grass, plants, and trees, but also releases dissolved nitrogen that makes the grass and other stuff look greener.

 Make it Rain

 In Botswana, the Setswana word for rain and money is the same - pula. 

Record Downpours

 - Most rain to fall in 1 minute: 1.23 in (31.2cm) in Unionville, MD on July 4, 1956

 - Most rain to fall in 1 hour: 13.8 in (35.05cm) in Burnsville, WV on August 4, 1943

  - Most rain to fall in 24 hours: 43 in (1092cm) in Alvin, TX on July 25, 1979 

 

GET A FREE GIFT WHEN YOU ORDER A WATER CYCLE PUZZLE BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON RAIN DAY, JULY 29TH! 

Source: www.nws.noaa.gov

Ohfact.com