Do you talk about the amount of rain that falls?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340019)
Rockingham, Australia
February 7, 2021 7:40am CST
Australia is a dry country with much of it uninhabitable because of the lack of water and the high temperatures. Australians often talk about how much rain has fallen overnight or for the week or whatever. Most farmers have rain gauges and take a keen interest in the rainfall, recording it meticulously.
We had a very unseasonal 3 inches of rain overnight. When we talked to our son in Ireland, we mentioned this and asked whether they measured rain in inches or millimetres. He didn’t really know and said people didn’t seem to talk about how much rain they did or didn’t get.
I know American myLotters often talk about how many inches of snow they get so my question is: Do people talk about the amount of rain they get in your country, and if so, do they use inches or millimetres?
Photo is of a very wet roo trying to shelter behind a blackboy/grass tree.
23 people like this
22 responses
It is raining for the third day...
@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
7 Feb 21
i do! but, you knew that before you asked!
3 people like this
@msdivkar (23359)
• India
9 Feb 21
@JudyEv Yes clouds are obstructed by the mountain range and it rains in the windward side of the mountains. The other side of the mountains which is called as leeward side therefore gets very scant rainfall. Near the mountains this rainfall is about 250 inches.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
7 Feb 21
Rain is in inches and smaller divisions of inches here. I'm in the middle of the continental US. And no, we don't usually talk about how much rain we get. We get it usually one or two days a week, so it just is. *shrug*
We do talk about how much snow we get because a good snowfall means no school for the kids, so you have to figure out what you're going to do with them while you go to work, and sometimes no work, if you live a more than a few miles from your job.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
7 Feb 21
@JudyEv Dad might have worried about it when I was a kid, but if so, I don't remember it.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (106271)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Feb 21
We use inches for the rain also. It depends on the year it seems for talking about it. More talk if we are not getting enough or getting enough to cause floods
2 people like this
@BHolopaw (176)
• Orlando, Florida
7 Feb 21
@JudyEv The amount that falls doesn't really matter to me on a typical day. I am more concerned about what time is the front going to pass so I can plan ahead. It rains almost every day here in the summer. The showers typically last an hour or less.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136446)
• India
8 Feb 21
I think it is normal to talk about the behaviour of rain but it is not measured. While on holiday in Australia I did experience rain when the sun was shining and I did not have the umbrella (lol)
1 person likes this
@Aquitaine24 (11813)
• San Jose, California
8 Feb 21
We do because we don’t get enough.
1 person likes this
@Aquitaine24 (11813)
• San Jose, California
8 Feb 21
@JudyEv We had snow on Mount Hamilton but it is already melted after a couple days.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Feb 21
@Aquitaine24 Does your area get an assured rainfall?
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Feb 21
That is what it's like in Australia. Many of us are always anxiously waiting for it to rain.
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
7 Feb 21
I do..and here we badly need rain.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Feb 21
@LowRiderX Yes, once you are used to one way, it can be hard to get really fluent with another.
1 person likes this
@LowRiderX (22903)
• Serbia
10 Feb 21
@JudyEv It was funny to me because it was like you heard what was being talking here. I tried a couple of times but inches confuse me. A matter of habit I would say
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
7 Feb 21
We talk about it, and we talk in inches. And we talk about it when we do not get it as well.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Feb 21
That sounds like us. I'm used to inches from the 'old' days but I've got to know cms pretty well now too.
@snowy22315 (180715)
• United States
8 Feb 21
Not usually unless maybe they are farmers. I do have a gizmo in the front though that measures rainfall. I don't pay that much attention to it, unless I look to see if it is full or not. Of course rain is a frequent occurence here.
1 person likes this
@franxav (13837)
• India
7 Feb 21
In India, it rains heavily. Sometimes it "pours" during the rainy season. Earlier we used to measure rain in inches but these days the unit of centimetre is used. However, few people speak in these technical terms and farmers don't keep rain gauges here.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Feb 21
Thanks for the information. I guess in your country, the amount of rain isn't quite so important. I mean, you maybe only need to worry when there is too much.
@LindaOHio (178701)
• United States
8 Feb 21
We only talk about how much rain we received if it was a notable amount. For example, we had a flood many years ago; and we had over 10" of rain. We talk about rain in inches. Great photo.
1 person likes this
@freelancermariagrace (27970)
• Philippines
8 Feb 21
We don't talk about the amount of rain we usually get here in PH 
1 person likes this
