Psychologist Pamela Dalton, a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center observes that, although humans don't appear to have innate responses to these odors, we do learn to associate them with our experiences. Flooding may forever scar us with moist, mildewy memories, but for many the smell of rain is cleansing and refreshing—relief from the relentless summer heat.

13 Comments

1. 1. promytius 06:39 PM 7/18/12

   I associate a coming rain with a smell close to the smell from rain drying on warm macadam, might that be ozone? We may least understand the sense of smell. I do wonder what a dog's world must be like; where we see so much, they instead smell so much, and I'm sure most all it is useful to them, and perhaps as rich a world as our visual world, or even our linguistic world.

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2. 2. jctyler 07:47 PM 7/18/12

   yes, sometimes I can smell the rain coming approx 15 to 30 minutes ahead; for me it is a certain change in the air, something that changes within a few minutes, a bit fresher, and only when I'm outside. I've also noted over the years that different people smell this differently, I guess depending on where they grew up (sensory education).
   
   Also, where I come from, when someone wants to express that he really doesn't like someone, he says "I simply can't smell (stand the smell of) him".
   
   More astonishing, women's sense of smell... taking the pill or not... marriages breaking up when she goes off the pill and her natural sense of smell returns and suddenly she "couldn't smell him" anymore. I've predicted certain couples breaking up when one of them stopped smoking (because the sensory smell perception returned). It fascinated me for years. Did all kinds of experiments too, some to astonishing effect, because it gave me unexpected insights into something I was working on at the time and which had in itself nothing to do with smell, but all with sensory perception as a counterweight to cognitive processes. (As you probably see, I get all excited over the memory of those experiments, I can virtually smell those times again <g>)
   
   About what the previous commenter mentions: when I lived in NY I had a rescued sledge dog who could smell snow approx 12 hours ahead. I didn't tell anyone how I did it but when I said it would snow in half a day, it would. I build quite a reputation on my dog's sense of how snow smells. <g>
   
   So yes, I can smell the rain coming (sometimes), I can also sometimes smell a coming change in weather towards heat when the change will be significant enough. I guess it's the same process as smelling rain but in reverse. And I do believe that dogs can "smell" all kinds of natural phenomena, from snow to cancer (quite proved by now, starting with Freud's dog when he got terminally ill), and that smell is a VERY underrated and badly underresearched sense, also in humans.
   
   So great to read this article, much appreciated.

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3. 3. Geopelia 10:15 AM 7/19/12

   Coming home from Muriwai to Auckland (New Zealand) the sky was blue but I could smell rain. I knew there was a big rainstorm somewhere. Once we got on to the main road, I saw a cloud, a long way off and near the horizon, with rain falling from it, although the rest of the sky was blue.
   
   Sure enough, on the news that evening there had been a heavy rainstorm over a "Big Day Out" pop music open air concert south of Auckland, and the place was awash.
   The smell of rain had come at least twenty miles.

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4. 4. Alenz 08:07 PM 7/19/12

   Yes! The smell of ' wet floor ' is very strong!

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5. 5. AtlantaTerry in reply to jctyler 03:30 PM 7/20/12

   "sled" dog

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6. 6. jctyler in reply to AtlantaTerry 05:37 PM 7/20/12

   ah, we foreigners... chien de traîneau / sledge dog... we shouldn't always trust our translation skills I suppose... could you look it up for me in your words book?
   
   

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7. 7. collettedesmaris 05:43 PM 7/20/12

   
   "Humans can distinguish more than 10,000 different smells (odorants), which are detected by specialized olfactory receptor neurons lining the nose.... It is thought that there are hundreds of different olfactory receptors, each encoded by a different gene and each recognizing different odorants. Each of the hundreds of receptors are encoded by a specific gene. If your DNA is missing a gene or if the gene is damaged, it can cause you to be unable to detect a certain smell."
   (Source: "Molecular Biology Of The Cell")
   
   In order for us to smell something, that "thing" must be giving off molecules through the air that enter our nasal passage; where the special neurons at the top of the nasal passage are triggered to identify the odor, scent, fragrance, smell,etc. The Human's sense of smell as a survival tool is perhaps one of the best reasons why we're equipped with it - I can detect even the slightest nuance of "badness" in milk, food, etc.
   I'm conjecturing that how it works, is once we match a smell to it's source, it's logged into our "smell memory file" for the duration; for our reference purposes. It would be so fascinating to be able to visually view that file!
   
   In the opening paragraph of this Scientific American article, it states: "Weather patterns produce distinctive odors that sensitive noses sniff out." It is, perhaps more appropriate to say that rain exudes droplets of water that can travel great distances, prior to the full rainfall commencing - and that those droplets consist of molecules that any nose equipped with the ability to detect & identify the rain droplet molecule (not just noses that are sensitive); can detect. I marvel at this phenomena just now being recognized by Scientific American - the Human's propensity to detect the "coming of rain" beforehand
   has been well-known for eons; and subsequently, was not a subject of such recent research as to warrant this article as being newsworthy.
   
   It seems as though they were looking for filler articles for their publication. It would behoove Scientific American to dedicate the editorial space, as well as their efforts, to investigating subjects such as "Why do droughts exist on a planet that has been well-versed for decades, on the subject of making rain happen?"
   
   
   
   
   

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8. 8. jctyler in reply to AtlantaTerry 06:24 PM 7/20/12

   sorry to be so slow, the correct expression is SLED dog then and it's noted for the future

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9. 9. jctyler in reply to collettedesmaris 06:32 PM 7/20/12

   "dedicate ... space... efforts, to investigating subjects such as "Why do droughts exist on a planet that has been well-versed for decades, on the subject of making rain happen?"
   
   Or if there is a "possibility of intelligent life in politics"

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10. 10. collettedesmaris in reply to jctyler 01:12 AM 7/21/12

    jctyler - I said nothing about "dedicating space efforts" to anything; nor did I even remotely mention anything about politics & intelligent life. Talk about coming out of left field! It truly escapes me how or why you made those two leaps, but I'm sure you've got your reasons, no?
    
    
    
    
    

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11. 11. jctyler in reply to collettedesmaris 07:48 AM 7/21/12

    "I said nothing about "dedicating space efforts" to anything"
    
    Of course you didn't say that. You said: "It would behoove Scientific American to dedicate the editorial space, as well as their efforts, to investigating subjects such as "Why do droughts exist on a planet that has been well-versed for decades, on the subject of making rain happen?"
    
    which quote I took a step further to say (and the dots indicated where to fill in): "wouldn't it behoove Scientific American to DEDICATE the editorial SPACE, as well as their EFFORTS, to investigating subjects such as the "possibility of intelligent life in politics" to better understand why we have these abnormal droughts in the first place?"
    
    Excuse me for having believed that we were pulling on the same side of the rope, and irony explained is generally a waste of time, but to soothen your wounds, I expressed a bit too subtly it seems the general belief in my field that the abnormal droughts of the present are a consequence of idiotic politics or government by idiots if you wish.
    
    But since you take this so seriously, making rain on demand has been wishful thinking since humans experienced droughts; not a single method ever worked more than erratically over a very small area. And a good thing it is. I hate to think what the climate would be if those idiots in politics had access to rain-making on a grand scale? Only look at what happens when they redirect rivers on a large scale in Russia or Tibet, the latter probably offering a prime trigger for a serious nuclear war in the region.
    
    Also, I suggest the collected works of Mr J. Cleese and associates on "reading between the lines".
    
    But this is far too much explaining off-topic (which is why I already used the filler dots) and I will not react to more of the same.

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12. 12. ARFA52 06:00 PM 7/21/12

    Coming from the North of England , we are getting far too used to smell of rain! However,in my experience, the "smell" of ozone is not the gas itself(odourless according to most sources), but a cocktail of nitrogen oxides produced by HV discharges, so IF you're down wind of a decent storm you will smell it.

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13. 13. collettedesmaris in reply to jctyler 08:21 PM 7/21/12

    jctyler - I thank you for clarifying that - after I read your explanation, I looked inward; shaking my head at my own lack of perception .... kinda scary; hope I'm not coming down with the "dumbing-down" syndrome that affects so many Americans today. I thought that since I don't pay for, own, or watch cable TV, that I was safe from that affliction. But man! I clearly didn't read into what you were saying - ooops! Sorry! I shall follow your gracious suggestion and check out the collected works of Mr. J. Cleese & Associates.
    
    That said, I reckon that we perhaps are pulling on the same side of the rope, as you say - (I like that better than the "fence" analogy!). I say this because I do coincide with your way of thinking regarding the politics, etc. Not being certain who the "they" actually encompasses, I usually refer to them in a general way as the "Shot-Callers". However, since I fully empathize with your horror at the thought of "them" getting their paws on the stuff that would enable them to control the weather - I've thought it over carefully, and it took only a brief moment of indecision to make the right choice. Without going
    into further explanation here, may I respectfully suggest that you pull up the website of an organization called "Weather Modification, Inc."
    You'll find all the information I'm speaking about
    in their site.
    
    Thanks for not being too snotty and derisive when you provided clarification for me, jc; you got class, kid.
    

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