Rain is back in a big way.
Water falling from the sky is back in fashion, with Friday night’s Blood Moon being among the big casualties as it thundered down last night.
One thing that has really resonated in the past 24 hours has been that distinctive rain smell.
That glorious, musty aroma that hangs around in the air after the heavens have opened.
Did you know it actually has a name? It is called ‘petrichor’.
Word of the evening: petrichor – the unique smell of rain falling on scorched earth, after a long spell of hot weather.
— Susie Dent (@susie_dent) July 20, 2018
And it is actually caused by a chemical being released from dead soil.
The smell of the air after a storm is caused by Geosmin: A chemical released by dead soil bacteria.
Humans are hyper sensitive to it, capable of detecting at a concentration of 5 parts per trillion.
It's theorised in our evolutionary past this helped us seek out water.☔️⛈️
— James A Wong (@Botanygeek) July 27, 2018
Love that smell after rain in the summer? ☔️ Well, it actually has a name- it’s scent called petrichor. The last sentence may explain why we like it so much! I took these extracts from Wikipedia: https://t.co/QNieDIyf8Z #RAIN2018 #petrichor #rain pic.twitter.com/INccKWzmqF
— Owain Wyn Evans (@OwainWynEvans) July 26, 2018
Isn’t that interesting? Now, go and bore people with that information next time someone mentions it.
In the meantime, be advised that a national status yellow rainfall warning is in effect until Wednesday.
Met Éireann notes that soil moisture deficits will remain in excess of 70mm in many parts of Leinster and Munster.