cloud burst
Intense brief storm
A cloudburst is a sudden, intense rainstorm—rain falling so heavily and abruptly that it seems a cloud has ruptured and dumped its contents all at once.
The term emphasizes the violence and brevity of the downpour rather than total rainfall: We got caught in a cloudburst and were soaked in seconds.
Usually spelled as one word.
Intense precipitation event
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- torrential rainExtremely heavy precipitation
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
thunderstorm · monsoon · squall · rainfall · storm cell · convection · cumulonimbus · rainstorm
Excess water drainage
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
- erosionGradual wearing away
- watershedDrainage area boundary
- saturationState of complete permeation
overflow · siltation · waterlogging · drainage · streamflow · floodplain · catchment · water table
Overwhelming water accumulation
- inundationOverwhelming surge of water
- engulfCompletely surround and cover
- submergePlunge beneath liquid
- swampWaterlogged land with vegetation
damage · mudslide · landslide · washout · destruction · displacement · infrastructure damage · road closure
River flood barrier
- dikeWall against flooding
- damWater-holding barrier
- drainage systemInfrastructure removing excess water
- flood barrierStructure blocking rising water
retention pond · warning system · evacuation · sandbag · spillway
downpour
Intense precipitation event
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- torrential rainExtremely heavy precipitation
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
precipitation · thunderstorm · monsoon · squall · rainfall · storm cell · convection · cumulonimbus · rainstorm · microburst
runoff
Excess water drainage
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
- erosionGradual wearing away
- watershedDrainage area boundary
saturation · overflow · siltation · waterlogging · drainage · streamflow · floodplain · catchment · water table
flooding
Overwhelming water accumulation
- inundationOverwhelming surge of water
- engulfCompletely surround and cover
- submergePlunge beneath liquid
swamp · damage · mudslide · landslide · washout · destruction · displacement · infrastructure damage · road closure · crop damage
levee
River flood barrier
- dikeWall against flooding
- damWater-holding barrier
- drainage systemInfrastructure removing excess water
flood barrier · retention pond · warning system · evacuation · sandbag · spillway
- rainfallrain, heavy rain, rainfall, light rain, precipitation
- Indian Weathermonsoon rains, monsoon season, loo, nor'wester, norwesters
- smoke trickssmoke ring, smoke rings, O-rings, French inhale, tornado
- monsoonmonsoon winds, wet season, rainy season, heavy rain, torrential rain
- stormsstorm, thunderstorm, hurricane, tornado, typhoon
cloud burstdrizzle
Very light precipitation
mist · light rain · sprinkle · scattered showers · intermittent rain
cloud burstdrought
Prolonged water scarcity
dry spell · clear skies · fair weather · dryness · sunshine
cloud, burst, clouds, cloudy, cloudier, cloudiest, cloudiness, clouded, clouding