cloudburst
nounUS /ˈklaʊdˌbɝst/ · UK /ˈklaʊdˌbɜːst/
Etymology From cloud + burst.
1
A sudden heavy rainstorm.
- [B]ut the sound . . . expressed an utter abandonment to grief; not the cloud-burst of some passing emotion, but the slow down-pour of a whole heaven of sorrow.1899, Edith Wharton, “A Cup of Cold Water”, in The Greater Inclination:
- A cloudburst in the China Creek district followed by continued heavy rains was responsible for the increased water.1908, Stewart Edward White, chapter 38, in The Riverman:
2 more examples
- In Uniontown, Pa., John Walchesky & family rushed from their house when lightning set it afire, rushed in again when a cloudburst put out the blaze.1936 August 17, “Miscellany”, in Time, retrieved 20 May 2014:
- [H]e walked across the lawn, wet from a fleeting late-afternoon cloudburst, the first rain in a month.2007 Feb. 25, Norman Howard, "Devotion, chapter 1" (book excerpt), New York Times (retrieved 20 May 2014)
- Synonyms
- cloudbust