Can you actually smell the rain?

Accuweather's Ariella Scalese breaks down Taylor Swift's lyrics in the first installment of Weather Karaoke.

Transcript

00:00All right, welcome to our newest segment called Weather Karaoke, where we dive deeper into

00:12the meteorological meaning behind popular song lyrics.

00:15Of course, I had to start off with Taylor Swift, who includes a lot of weather in her

00:20song, specifically the song Swift sings about a final embrace, where she remembers the scent

00:25of a certain precipitation.

00:26Yes, it's the smell of the rain.

00:29So we're asking, can you actually smell the rain?

00:32Well, not only can you smell it, but there's a word to describe it.

00:36It's called petrichor, the earth we said produced when rain falls on dry soil.

00:42So when a raindrop lands on a porous surface, air from the pores form small bubbles, which

00:47then float to the surface and release aerosols.

00:50The aerosols carry the scent as well as bacteria and viruses from the soil.

00:56All right, so when the raindrops are moving at a slower rate, they actually tend to produce

01:00more aerosols.

01:02And this is why petrichor is more common after light rains.

01:07So yes indeed, Taylor Swift is right.

01:09Who's surprised?

01:10Rain truly does have a scent.

01:13Unlike some DJs, I am taking requests.

01:15What songs about weather are you curious about?

01:18You can email them to me at ariella.scalise at AccuWeather.com.

01:21You can also message me on social media.