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Glite Dictionary
rainband

rainband

1 6.1
A long narrow band of rain and clouds that forms with storms or fronts
  • noun
  • /ˈreɪnˌbænd/
  • Specialized
: banda de lluvia
  • The day before and the day of landfall capture HTS that are associated with outer rainbands of a hurricane that impact the coast before landfall and those that are associated with landfall.
  • outer rainbands

Examples

  • Outer rainbands coming ashore prior to hurricane landfall are responsible for HTS that occur before landfall.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The showers and thunderstorms where all of this energy is released are usually organized into bands (sometimes called "rainbands" or "feeder bands"), as well as into an "eyewall" encircling the center of the storm.

    Blog text (28)

  • The heavy rainband moved across the town, causing flooding in several streets.

  • As the storm approached, we could see the dark rainband forming in the distance.

  • Meteorologists reported that the rainband would bring significant rainfall to the region.

Surface Forms

rainband singular
rainbands plural

Morphology

rainband = rain + band (transparent) = rain + band

A straightforward compound of 'rain' + 'band' whose meaning is directly the band/strip of rain; learners who know both components can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Rainband is a simple compound of rain and band, where band means a 'strip' or 'belt', as in headband. So a rainband is a long, narrow 'strip' of rain and clouds that can bring heavy showers.