Most readers will probably remember the old classic whose title I borrowed for this post. For those who don’t, and for those who do, here it is – enjoy while reading. Take it away, Credence Clearwater Revival:
If the eskimos have 200 words for snow, then perhaps the British should have the same number of variants for the wet stuff. Our weather has a terrible reputation around the world, and it would be easy for someone who has never been here to imagine that the sun is a mythical object to most inhabitants of these dark and dreary isles.
Of course we do get our fair share of rain. There are also the dark days, when the sun is obscured by a thick blanket of grey, and we are treated to several days of cold drizzle. But we do get plenty of sunshine, and we rarely get the spectacular rainfall that other, more illustrious locations, enjoy. British rain is rarely a dramatic event, and as a travelling Brit my most vivid weather related memories come from other continents.
Incessant rain
Without doubt I would list an afternoon in Florida as one of my most terrifying rain-related moments. We were visiting the Everglades and I was driving back towards Miami on a typical hot and stick June day. We’d been cycling after lunch and had been increasingly aware that the sky was blackening to the west.
Once the rain started to fall the intensity increased at such an alarming rate I was completely taken by surprise. One moment I was driving at around 50 mph along a two lane highway, and the next moment I could barely see the road in front of me. The noise was deafening, as if the car was made of corrugated metal. The windscreen wipers meanwhile were rendered next to useless against the torrent that was being thrown at us.
By now I could only just see one white line ahead of us; the central dividing line that separated us from the oncoming traffic. I was caught in two minds. I wanted to pull over, but there was nowhere to do so (that I could see). My fear was that if I stopped the next car would plough into us, being unable to see us until it was too late to stop. But if I went on, I might just hit that driver that had chosen to stop. In the end I continued at a snail’s pace, heart pounding and fully expecting a shunt from the rear or the sudden sight of a stationary car a yard or two in front of us at any time.
We got through the rain in around 10 minutes, and sure enough by the time we reached Miami the roads had almost dried out. I was a happy man, parking up at our hotel and returning to life on foot. So when our American friends tease us about living in a land of rain, I always remember that afternoon in Florida and think to myself that if you really want to see the rain, stay in the US and go south.
Nice story Andy
I’ve heard little about England’s weather but the Miami has terrifying rain for sure!
Once when i was a high schoo student, I was at a university astromony program in Suwon, and was raining so hard. we were in a class room so just heard the raining sound, but when we got out the whole cafeteria was full of water almost to my knee. finally when we got out a hill in the school looks like they have a waterfall. It was terrifying for sure but quite amusing frankly. hehe
Juno.
That sort of rain can be terrifying when in a car… but it can be worse – it could be snow = black ice = you don’t have the option to stop even if you wanted to!
Thanks Juno and Lauren for your comments. Juno, your story sounds terrifying, but like you say it’s easy to remember these events fondly in time. As for the black ice Lauren, no thanks! It’s lethal isn’t it…
Yep, we can definitely get some deluges in the U.S. I’ve driven through my share , in multiple states, where I had the same reaction. Want to pull over but visibility is so bad you just know someone is going to rear end you if you do. Perhaps Britain’s reputation for having the worst weather isn’t deserved!
I remember rain in Cyprus when I was a kid – winter rainstorms where the noise of it drumming on the house roof was deafening and it was bounceing high in the air.We are lucky in the UK not to have these extremes very often – this year I have experienced snowdrifts and minus 17 centigrade in Poland and Chicago making even our winter snow seen relatively benign.
Where we do have a reputation is for making our weather a subject of conversation and whingeing. Mind you ours is much more unpredictable – a part of its charm I think.
It also makes for our beautiful countryside in spring as we can enjoy now http://su.pr/2Nx3Wq
True Barbara. Our weather does get a bad rap. It’s rarely dramatic, but that’s ok for some (although we fall to pieces as a nation if we have anything approaching serious weather)
Patrick, thanks for sharing your spring photos- they’re great!