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Originally Posted by AutoCadillac I know if the rain comes from the South, I won't have much spotting. But, if the front is from the North, the car will look like it has skin cancer after the rain. If it is from the West, then it will spot if there have been wild fires in Texas. |
Hang on a second there - let me explain how raindrops form.
Water vapor in the air cannot condense into raindrops without condensation nuclei in the air. These nuclei can be particles of pollution, dust, salt (near oceans), or other things. Each condensation nuclei presents an opportunity for a tiny droplet of water to form around it. It takes millions or billions of these nuclei (each enclosed by a tiny water droplet) to form a single raindrop heavy enough to fall to the ground.
What does this have to do with anything you might ask? Well once that raindrop falls on your car and evaporates, you're left with all those tiny particles (condensation nuclei) on your car. That's where those dirty spots come from.
To answer your original question, I've been fascinated with weather for many many years. I've taken two college meteorology/climatology courses and I've completed a National Weather Service "Severe Weather Spotter" training course. I'm pretty good at telling when a storm is approaching, and that's often helpful when I'm kayaking on a large body of water. It's always nice to give myself a little heads-up to get the hell off the water!