Weather Banter - View Single Post - [WR] Persistent thick drizzle Coventry and environs

JPG · September 18th 04, 10:32 AM posted to uk.sci.weather

On 18 Sep 2004 00:44:20 GMT, (TudorHgh) wrote:

It's the sort of drizzle that (totally unscientific) wets you more
than a tropical downpour, as my mother would say. Must be due to
number of droplets per cubic metre, which always seems to at its
greatest in these situations.

If you go out in a drizzle, the droplets are so small and light they are
stopped by the slightest thing, so they stay totally on the outside of your
clothing, sometimes it seems barely touching it. Equally, your hair is no
wetter than if you'd sprayed it as the barber might do.

Glad to hear you've still got hair, Tudor, unlike some of us!

Yet if you go out in
heavy rain the large drops bash straight through your clothing and hair,
soaking you in no time. So why does this nonsensical bit of folklore about
drizzle being wetter than heavy rain still persist? It's something I was
brought up with and still hear, but simple observation totally contradicts it.
It's just complete ********!

I agree, but it may be something to do with the fact that we are more
inclined to go out in light rain or drizzle and get wet. During a
very heavy downpour we would tend to shelter or not go out at all.

Martin

Tudor Hughes