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Rain: Quick Facts

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News •

SF will trade warm temps for wet conditions this week • Nov. 10, 2026, 7:00 AM ET (San Francisco Examiner)
Rain clears, but flood risk remains high after destructive storms swamp normally arid US Southwest • Nov. 3, 2026, 7:35 AM ET (Chicago Tribune)
Bay Area may see its last dry weekend in a while — plus great moon viewing • Oct. 24, 2026, 7:00 AM ET (San Francisco Chronicle)
Weekend washout for most states as storm season intensifies • Oct. 23, 2026, 3:32 PM ET (ABC News (Australia))
New storm moves into Southern California: What to expect • Oct. 21, 2026, 10:43 AM ET (Los Angeles Times)

Photos and Videos

Heavy rain pours off the edge of a sloped roof, with streams of water cascading down in front of trees in the background.
thunderstorm: rain and lightning
A vertical rain shaft descends over the sea during a colorful tropical sunset, with silhouetted hills and coastline at Man-of-War Bay, Tobago.
Thematic map of the Guinea Coast region in West Africa showing the distribution of major ethnic groups and average annual rainfall. Coastal and southern areas, including parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, are shaded in green and purple to indicate higher rainfall, while northern and inland regions are shaded in yellow and orange for lower rainfall. Major ethnic groups such as Temne, Mende, Yoruba, Igbo, and Ashanti are labeled within their respective reg
Global distribution of mean annual rainfall (in centimetres).
Graph of monsoon rainfall in India, 1871–1981. Annual rainfall amounts are depicted as percentages departing from the 110-year average. The red line superimposed on the graph suggests a recurring trend over this time period.
A large window looking at a forested exterior, four hand-drawn blue raindrops, and a hand holding a phone displaying a pie chart showing a 60% chance of partly cloudy skies, and a 40% chance of rain.
How Do Clouds Float?
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See how water transforms between liquid, ice, and vapour in the water cycle
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Key People

John Dalton
John Dalton
British scientist

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