We’ve just been back from a vacation to Hawaii, and it was raining heavily on and off for a couple of days in Honolulu. Staying cozy in the hotel, I took the opportunity to tell the kids a little about rain and how it helps with trees, plants, insects and the environment etc., and also taught them to remember keeping themselves dry and warm with umbrella, wearing rain coat and rain boot, or taking shelter when needed.
Some facts about rain:
- Rain falls from clouds in the sky in the form of water droplets, this is called precipitation.
- Raindrops fall at a speed of 7 to 18 mph. In wind, they might fall much faster.
- Water can also fall from the sky in the form of hail, sleet or snow.
- The least rainy place on earth isn’t in the desert. It may be covered with ice, but Antarctica gets only 6.5 inches of rain or snow per year, making it the continent with the lowest annual rainfall by far.
- Heavy rain can cause flooding and landslides.
- Rain allows us to create electricity through hydropower.
- Plants need water in order to survive, they receive much of this water from rain.
- Forests that experience high levels of rainfall are called rainforests.
- Flash floods happen when it rains a lot and water rises very quickly. Flash floods are dangerous. They kill more people in the U.S. than tornadoes, earthquakes or lightning.
- Rain contains more than just water. It might contain dirt, dust, insects, grass or even chemicals.
