Deviations can occur for small droplets and during different rainfall conditions.

The distribution tends to fit

averaged rainfall, while instantaneous size spectra often deviate and have been modeled as gamma
distributions.[31] The distribution has an upper limit due to droplet fragmentation.[23]

Raindrop impacts
Raindrops impact at their terminal velocity, which is greater for larger drops due to their larger mass-to-drag
ratio. At sea level and without wind, 0.5 mm (0.020 in) drizzle impacts at 2 m/s (6.6 ft/s) or 7.2 km/h (4.5 mph),
while large 5 mm (0.20 in) drops impact at around 9 m/s (30 ft/s) or 32 km/h (20 mph).[32]

Rain falling on loosely packed material such as newly fallen ash can produce dimples that can be fossilized,
called raindrop impressions.[33] The air density dependence of the maximum raindrop diameter together with
fossil raindrop imprints has been used to constrain the density of the air 2.7 billion years ago. [34]

The sound of raindrops hitting water is caused by bubbles of air oscillating underwater.[35][36]

The METAR code for rain is RA, while the coding for rain showers is SHRA.[37]

Virga
Main article: Virga

In certain conditions, precipitation may fall from a cloud but then evaporate or sublime before reaching the
ground. This is termed virga and is more often seen in hot and dry climates.

Causes
Frontal activity
Main article: Weather fronts

Stratiform (a broad shield of precipitation with a relatively similar intensity) and dynamic precipitation
(convective precipitation which is showery in nature with large changes in intensity over short distances) occur
as a consequence of slow ascent of air in synoptic systems (on the order of cm/s), such as in the vicinity of cold
fronts and near and poleward of surface warm fronts. Similar ascent is seen around tropical cyclones outside
the eyewall, and in comma-head precipitation patterns around mid-latitude cyclones.[38]

A wide variety of weather can be found along an occluded front, with thunderstorms possible, but usually, their
passage is associated with a drying of the air mass. Occluded fronts usually form around mature low-pressure
areas.[39] What separates rainfall from other precipitation types, such as ice pellets and snow, is the presence of
a thick layer of air aloft which is above the melting point of water, which melts the frozen precipitation well
before it reaches the ground. If there is a shallow near-surface layer that is below freezing, freezing rain (rain
which freezes on contact with surfaces in subfreezing environments) will result.[40] Hail becomes an increasingly
infrequent occurrence when the freezing level within the atmosphere exceeds 3,400 m (11,000 ft) above
ground level.[41]

Convection
 Convective precipitation
Orographic precipitation

Convective rain, or showery precipitation, occurs from convective clouds (e.g., cumulonimbus or cumulus
congestus). It falls as showers with rapidly changing intensity. Convective precipitation falls over a certain area
for a relatively short time, as convective clouds have limited horizontal extent. Most precipitation in
the tropics appears to be convective; however, it has been suggested that stratiform precipitation also occurs. [38]
[42]
Graupel and hail indicate convection.[43] In mid-latitudes, convective precipitation is intermittent and often
associated with baroclinic boundaries such as cold fronts, squall lines, and warm fronts.[44]

Orographic effects
Main articles: Orographic lift, Precipitation types (meteorology), and United States rainfall climatology

Orographic precipitation occurs on the windward side of mountains and is caused by the rising air motion of a
large-scale flow of moist air across the mountain ridge, resulting in adiabatic cooling and condensation. In
mountainous parts of the world subjected to relatively consistent winds (for example, the trade winds), a more
moist climate usually prevails on the windward side of a mountain than on the leeward or downwind side.
Moisture is removed by orographic lift, leaving drier air (see katabatic wind) on the descending and generally
warming, leeward side where a rain shadow is observed.[16]

In Hawaii, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, on the island of Kauai, is notable for its extreme rainfall, as it is amongst the
places in the world with the highest levels of rainfall, with 9,500 mm (373 in).[45] Systems known as Kona
storms affect the state with heavy rains between October and April.[46] Local climates vary considerably on each
island due to their topography, divisible into windward (Koʻolau) and leeward (Kona) regions based upon
location relative to the higher mountains. Windward sides face the east to northeast trade winds and receive
much more rainfall; leeward sides are drier and sunnier, with less rain and less cloud cover.[47]

In South America, the Andes mountain range blocks Pacific moisture that arrives in that continent, resulting in a
desert-like climate just downwind across western Argentina.[48] The Sierra Nevada range creates the same
effect in North America forming the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts.[49][50]

Within the tropics

 Rainfall distribution by month in Cairns, Australia,
showing the extent of the wet season at that location

See also: Monsoon and Tropical cyclone

Main article: Wet season

The wet, or rainy, season is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual
rainfall in a region falls.[51] The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist
authorities.[52] Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics.
[53]
Savanna climates and areas with monsoon regimes have wet summers and dry winters. Tropical rainforests
technically do not have dry or wet seasons, since their rainfall is equally distributed through the year. [54] Some
areas with pronounced rainy seasons will see a break in rainfall mid-season when the intertropical convergence
zone or monsoon trough move poleward of their location during the middle of the warm season.[27] When the
wet season occurs during the warm season, or summer, rain falls mainly during the late afternoon and early
evening hours. The wet season is a time when air quality improves,[55] freshwater quality improves,[56][57] and
vegetation grows significantly.

Tropical cyclones, a source of very heavy rainfall, consist of large air masses several hundred miles across
with low pressure at the centre and with winds blowing inward towards the centre in either a clockwise direction
(southern hemisphere) or counterclockwise (northern hemisphere).[58] Although cyclones can take an enormous
toll in lives and personal property, they may be important factors in the precipitation regimes of places they
impact, as they may bring much-needed precipitation to otherwise dry regions.[59] Areas in their path can receive
a year's worth of rainfall from a tropical cyclone passage.[60]

Human influence

Surface air temperature change over the past 50 years. [61]

See also: Effects of climate change, Effects of climate change on the water cycle, and Urban heat island

The fine particulate matter produced by car exhaust and other human sources of pollution forms cloud
condensation nuclei leads to the production of clouds and increases the likelihood of rain. As commuters and
commercial traffic cause pollution to build up over the course of the week, the likelihood of rain increases: it
peaks by Saturday, after five days of weekday pollution has been built up. In heavily populated areas that are
near the coast, such as the United States' Eastern Seaboard, the effect can be dramatic: there is a 22% higher
chance of rain on Saturdays than on Mondays.[62] The urban heat island effect warms cities 0.6 to 5.6 °C (33.1
to 42.1 °F) above surrounding suburbs and rural areas. This extra heat leads to greater upward motion, which
can in