A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

These days, unfortunately, we all need to become familiar with the terminology for extreme weather and climate change, if only to know when we should dash into the basement or pack up and run.

So how bad is it in Russia? Pretty darn bad: Изменение климата в России происходит быстрее, чем в среднем по миру (Climate change in Russia is happening faster than the world average). Климатический кризис уже здесь (The climate crisis is already here).

Like elsewhere in the world, there are general changes like колебания климата (climatic fluctuations) and потопление (warming). В последнее время природные катаклизмы участились (In recent years natural catastrophes have become more frequent). These include разрушительные ураганы, оползни, ледяные и проливные дожди, жара, засуха, наводнения, лесные пожары (destructive tornadoes, landslides, ice and driving rain, heat waves, drought, flooding and forest fires), plus some frightening changes that are specific to Russia and other northern countries: таяние вечной мерзлоты, уменьшение площади и толщины морского льда, таяние ледяного щита (melting of permafrost, shrinking of the area and thickness of sea ice, melting of the ice sheet). 

There are some “look on the bright side” folks who think Russia will come out a winner, with more arable land. But in the meantime:  Синоптики не рискуют давать прогнозы даже на неделю вперёд (Meteorologists don’t risk making forecasts for even a week ahead).

But pay attention when you get a weather forecast on your phone in a text with a lot of exclamation marks: До конца суток ожидаются сильный дождь, гроза, град, шквалистое усиление ветра до 25м/с! (Before the end of the day there will be heavy rain, thunderstorms, hail, winds gusting to 25 meters a second [56 mph]!) Не укрывайтесь и не паркуйте автотранспорт под деревьями и шаткими конструкциями! (Do not shelter or park your vehicle under trees or unstable structures!).

Дождь (rain) is one of the most varied forms of weather, language-wise. When it is gentle, it is the diminutive дождик or мелкий дождь (fine rain) and it just walks through the air: дождик идёт (It’s sprinkling). When it is just beginning or barely raining, you might say дождь накрапывает (A very fine rain is falling) or speak about изморось (drizzle) or use the verb моросить (to drizzle): утром моросило (The morning was drizzly). If the sun is shining while it rains, you call it слепой дождь (“blind rain”) or sometimes грибной (“mushroom rain”). If it is pouring down incessantly, you might call it обложной дождь (a steady downpour). Or you can use the verb хлестать (to lash): Пять дней хлестал дождь (For five days the rain beat down). If it is really coming down, you could say: Льёт как из ведра (It’s coming down in buckets) or go Old Testament: Разверзлись хляби небесные. (The heavens have opened!)

Heavy rain is проливной (pelting) or ливень (torrent, deluge, downpour). With these terms you usually change the verb: Вот-вот соберётся и хлынет ливень (Any minute now the storm will break and rain will come pouring down). С неба вдруг обрушился ливень (Suddenly the rain started pelting down).

Хлынуть (to pour down) and обрушиться (to pelt, unleash, gush) can also be used to describe what happens with non-wet things: Откроют границы и иностранцы к нам хлынут (If they open the borders, foreigners will flood in). На меня обрушился шквал критики (A barrage of criticism was unleashed on me).

To be honest, I’d rather be caught it a storm of criticism than a three-day deluge.