Coming down in buckets

IT'S the rain and lightening season, again. It brings cool air but also dangerous floods. To refresh your memory, here are some useful expressions for this changing season:

1. I enjoy the rhythm of the falling rain. 我喜欢听淅淅沥沥的雨声。

For rain that is not heavy, we say "light rain" (小雨), or in a more romantic way "gentle rain" (柔风细雨). We also have "drizzle" (毛毛雨) that is even lighter.

It drizzled off and on all day. (整日在时停时续地下着毛毛雨。)

2. Heavy rains will continue for at least another three days in Hunan. 湖南地区的大雨还将至少持续三天。

If it is raining heavily, we say it's a "heavy rain" or a "rainstorm" or a "downpour". If it's nearly causing a flood, it's often described as a "deluge".

Rainstorms have hit many provinces since the weekend. (周末以来，暴雨袭击了多个省份。)

At haIf past one the downpour ceased. (一点半钟这阵瓢泼大雨停止了。)

I got caught in the deluge on the way home. (回家的路上我遇到大暴雨了。)

3. Why not wait for five more minutes? It's raining cats and dogs. 干嘛不再等5分钟啊？现在正下着倾盆大雨。

"Rain cats and dogs" is a colloquial expression used in daily speech. We have other vivid ways to describe pouring.

The rain was coming down in buckets, and I was wet all over. (天下着倾盆大雨，我浑身都湿透了。)