Rain classification

History: it was raining outside, I was bored. I didn't want to do my work... so I decided to come up with a system for classifying rain. And here it is.

There are three parts to the classification:

Rain Quantity
Drop Size
Wind Speed

eg: You might say: "this is a type 6:5:2 rain", meaining quantity 6, drop size 5, wind speed 2.

Here are the values:

No. Name Description

Quantity

1 Spitting Hardly noticed - rings visble on water

2 Occasional droplets

3 Light droplets

4 Moderate droplets

5 Light rain

6 Moderate rain

7 Heavy rain

8 Very Heavy rain

9 Heavy downpour

Drop size

1 Fine drizzle Droplets float on air

2 Drizzle

3 Tiny spots

4 Small spots

5 Small drops

6 Moderate drops

7 Large drops

8 Thunderstorm drops

9 Large thunderstorm drops

Wind speed (beaufort scale)

0 Calm Still: Smoke will rise vertically. Rain will fall vertically ;

1 Light Air Rising smoke drifts, weather vane is inactive.

2 Light Breeze Leaves rustle, can feel wind on your face, weather vane is inactive.

3 Gentle Breeze Leaves and twigs move around. Light weight flags extend.

4 Moderate Breeze Moves thin branches, raises dust and paper.

5 Fresh Breeze Trees sway.

6 Strong Breeze Large tree branches move, open wires (such as telegraph wires) begin to "whistle", umbrellas are difficult to keep under control.

7 Moderate Gale Large trees begin to sway, noticeably difficult to walk.

8 Fresh Gale Twigs and small branches are broken from trees, walking into the wind is very difficult.

9 Strong Gale Slight damage occurs to buildings, shingles are blown off of roofs.

10 Whole Gale Large trees are uprooted, building damage is considerable.

11 Storm Extensive widespread damage. These typically occur only at sea, and rarely inland.

12 Hurricane Extreme destruction