If suddenly a thunder struck, wind gusts resembling a flurry, lightning suddenly struck, then there is no doubt that very heavy rain will follow. Explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language explain that this phenomenon is called a downpour.
Moisture evaporated from the earth's surface condenses and turns into clouds. If a very warm and very humid stream goes up, these cumulonimbus formations threaten to fall down in such a rain.
Rainfall - what is it?
Meteorologists call heavy rainfall a very intense rain reaching up to 100 mm per hour. Their cradle is the cold fronts of the atmosphere and the unstable air masses in them. Moreover, high cloud cover (about 7-9 points) is completely optional for this. Showers are possible with small (from 4 to 6 points) and even low (2 or 3 points) cloudiness. Depending on this, heavy rains are either strong or weak.
Most often, the rain lasts several minutes, less often it takes an hour or two. And only in tropical latitudes were recorded showers lasting several days. Rainfall - the world champion was registered on July 14, 1876, when over 1,000 mm of rain fell on the residents of Cherapundji (India, Meghalaya state) for only a day.
results
Showers are dangerous natural phenomena, because their consequences are catastrophic:
- Flooding of territories.
- Formation of ravines, landslides (displacement of a huge number of loose rocks), soil failures.
- Blur the foundations of buildings and the destruction of buildings.
- Spill the rivers, wash the banks.
- In the mountains - the formation of mudflows (mud streams containing stones that flood the valleys).
- Difficulty in the operation of transport up to a complete stop.
- Life threat to people and animals, which huge masses of water moving at high speeds can knock down and cripple.
This is the downpour, which differs from the usual harmless rain in that it makes the Emergencies Ministry unit more alert.
Rain and car
A separate line should highlight the danger of rain for road users. What are the consequences of heavy rains for motorists?
- Reduced visibility.
- A slippery road where driving is difficult.
- Distracting attention from the road with lightning and stunning the driver with thunder.
- Inattentive pedestrians hurrying to hide from the rain.
- Increased braking distance and the likelihood of a car skidding.
- Puddles on the road can hide pits and open hatches.
Figurative meaning of the word
So, we found out what rainfall is in the applied, so to speak, meaning of this word. In a figurative meaning, this word is used to denote a huge amount, intense and ongoing manifestation of something.
For example, in phrases: under a shower of machine-gun fire, bring down a shower of reproaches.