I got caught in perhaps the most intense downpour I've ever been out in
today, just after 1pm BST. I'd had lunch out and the rain began just as
I began my 10 minute walk home. Naturally it started to ease off just as
I reached my front door. Though I had a large umbrella, I still got
thoroughly soaked; it felt like I'd had baths where I hadn't got so wet,
though that is a slight exaggeration. In that short 10 minute period,
pavements and roads were turned into streams and, though I tried to
avoid the deepest water, it still came over the tops of my shoes once or
twice. There was also some small hail, though that wasn't exceptional.
--
John Hall "[It was] so steep that at intervals the street broke into steps,
like a person breaking into giggles or hiccups, and then resumed
its sober climb, until it had another fit of steps."
Ursula K Le Guin "The Beginning Place"