Before the Rain | After: Petrichor

This is what it looked like before a brief thunderstorm delighted all of us in SoCal.

It sounded as if someone was throwing around trash cans on the side of the house so I went out to look, and realized it was thunder! That’s an example of how novel an experience a thunder and lightening storm is for us.

We haven’t had rain in such a long time and it smells fresh right now, exactly the definition of the word petrichor.

Petrichor is the term coined in 1964 by Australian scientists to describe the unique, earthy smell associated with rain. It’s said to be caused by the water from rain, along with certain compounds like ozone, geosmin, and plant oils.
https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/students/highschool/chemistryclubs/infographics/petrichor-the-smell-of-rain.pdf

It looks like a bit more rain might visit us in the next few days. We’re excited to fill up our rain barrels and receive the bounty of Mother Nature.

Originally published at http://enchantedseashells.com on October 12, 2022.