[♪ INTRO] Aww. What’s wrong, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaking] Oh, is the rain making you sad? I know
you were hoping to fly your kite today. [Squeaks squeaking]
Well, don’t worry. I’m sure it will go away soon! You know Squeaks, there are
a lot of places that are way, WAY rainier than the Fort. [Squeaks squeaking] It’s true! Right now, all over the world,
people are experiencing different weather. In some places, it's sunny and dry.
In others, it's cold and windy. And in some places, it's even
wetter than it is here at the Fort! [Squeaks squeaking] There’s a good reason why! We all experience different
weather because the places we live have different land and water
features that make them unique. We’re up high in the mountains, which makes it colder where we are
than it is in some other places. [Squeaks squeaking]
Yes, and snowier in the wintertime, too! Scientists measure the different weather
patterns in all of these places to learn more about what makes them happen, and
how to predict future weather changes. And because of certain conditions, there
are some places where it rains a LOT. [Squeaks squeaking] Great question, Squeaks! Scientists can measure how much rain a place gets by collecting
some of the falling water. They can’t catch it all at once, so they use an object called a rain
gauge to gather the rain in a small area. Then, they figure out how much water fell, usually by measuring how many millimeters
high that water is in their gauge. Then researchers can look at how much rain those places see over long periods of time. And they can use that information to
identify the rainiest places on earth! Do you want to learn about a couple of them? [Squeaks squeaking] Awesome! Let's take a look! There’s a place in Hawai’i
called Mount Wai’ale’ale, which has the record for the
most rainfall over 60 years. The average amount of rain they got in
that time was 9,500 millimeters per year! That’s twice as tall as a giraffe. [Squeaks squeaking] And it has been even higher at times, too. The rainiest year they’ve ever seen was 1982, when they got more than
17,300 millimeters of rain! So if we ever go and visit Mount Wai’ale’ale, we’ll need to bring our rain boots for sure! [Squeaks squeaking]
Great question Squeaks! There are a few things about Mount
Wai’ale’ale that help make it so rainy. For starters, it’s on an island that’s
farther north than the rest of the Hawaiian islands, and because of that, it tends to be
the first one to get hit by moving storms. The mountain is also surrounded
by valleys on three sides, and these valleys help push storm
clouds right up to the mountain itself. Kind of like when you carve a
path in your mashed potatoes and the gravy all flows down that path. [Squeaks squeaking]
I love mashed potatoes too, Squeaks. And I love that scientists can
learn things about weather patterns by studying rainy places like Mount Wai’ale’ale. But it isn’t the only super rainy place on Earth. The area with the most rain in
one year is Cherrapunji, India, which got more than 25,400 millimeters of rainfall from the summer of 1860 to the summer of 1861. That’s as high as an 8-story building! And that same town has the record for
the most rainfall in 48 hours, too! In 1995, it got splashed with 2,493
millimeters of rain in two days. That’s almost as high as the tallest
person on Earth in just a couple days! [Squeaks squeaking] Another nearby town called
Mawsynram is really rainy, too. Mawsynram holds the record for the
highest average rainfall over 30 years, with 11,872 millimeters of rain per year. Both of these places are in an area
that has a wet season and a dry season. In the wet season, they get massive storms, called monsoons, and these
storms bring in LOTS of rain! [Squeaks squeaking] Right, that means these places usually get
most of their rain in one part of the year, instead of more consistently like the Fort. The monsoon season happens for the same reason we have summer and winter here. As the Earth tilts, it changes
how much sunlight hits the planet. When the sunlight is stronger on the
ocean, it makes more water evaporate. That means that there are more clouds, and those clouds get pushed over
to the land by air currents. [Squeaks squeaking]
Good question, Squeaks! The monsoons are especially
strong in this part of Asia because of the Himalaya Mountains. These giant peaks block any of the
dry air from reaching the places that are the rainiest, so the storm clouds
don’t get pushed away anywhere else. [Squeaks squeaking] Oh, right. I’m sure the kids
living in those really rainy places have lots of games they can
play, even when it’s raining. And I have a craft in mind
for us to do today, too! Let’s make our own rain gauge so we can figure out how much rain we
get for the rest of today! [Squeaks squeaking] For this craft, you’ll need a tall,
clear container with straight sides. An old spaghetti sauce jar works great! You’ll also need a ruler, a permanent
marker, and some clear tape. Put a piece of tape up the side of the jar. Then, use your ruler to make lines on
the tape for every 5 or 10 millimeters. Seal in your markings by putting
another piece of tape over the top. Then, set your rain gauge outside in a
place with nothing else above it, and wait! Once the rain stops, you can check how
many millimeters of rain your area got. [Squeaks squeaking]
I’m excited too, Squeaks. Let's go set up our rain gauge
outside and start measuring! [Squeaks squeaking]
Thanks for joining us here at the Fort. You can come hang out with
us anytime, rain or shine! Just hit the subscribe button, and
we'll see you next time on SciShow Kids! [♪ OUTRO]
