Oily Rain?

[DailyDi]

Anyone else in the south experiencing oily rain? Left the house in a clean car, drove through 10 minutes of rain and now my windshield is smeared like grease and there are streaks of black all over my car. Wondering if we're getting oil and/or dispersant in the air down here?

[heartwood]

Lof of rain in Georgia yesterday. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[PArms]

Maybe a puddle with oil floating on it was splashed onto your windshield.

[timmyc]

rain, yes but no oil

[~Skitty~]

nope, no oily rain. but speaking of rain,

its so hot here in north carolina, i went out after it rained around 10 pm to go see salt (seasalt ) and the streets were like steaming. huge wisps were coming off the streets. it looked like something straight out of fallout 3 or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. :3

[Repaid1]

Anyone else in the south experiencing oily rain? Left the house in a clean car, drove through 10 minutes of rain and now my windshield is smeared like grease and there are streaks of black all over my car. Wondering if we're getting oil and/or dispersant in the air down here?

From a scientific prospective, true rain couldn't contain any oil. Not to say that water from another source such as puddles or another vehicle spraying it couldn't have been the culprit. While the Rain from the clouds is pure it can become contaminated as it falls through the atmosphere, such as with acid rain. So unless there was a huge oil fire or the similar around I would wonder on the cause. Perhaps a leaky Jet or plane overhead?

Normally if the rain just started, the roads will have oily residue from leaks and exhaust until the rain has a chance to rinse the road. I tend to drive a little slower or not at all in the rain when it first begins just for that reason.

I used to have some pretty nice rides back in my day...I decided once that I was going to "wax" my car with Rain-X. I figured it did such a good job on my windows..it should make the whole car slicker. It actually works really good. On a quick rain or whatever you can towel off the car in a jiffy.

According to Mythbusters, it saves fuel too! Who would have known?

[tndyperboy]

Never had that happen, well at least not here in Tennessee. We would have noticed if there was a "sheen" on the swimming pool. But then again it has rained so much this summer everything should be washed squeaky clean. Right now it is just blazing, sticky, muggy, gross, hot. How did people live down here, much less work in an office, before A/C?

[timmyc]

Perhaps a leaky Jet or plane overhead?

attention P&G/Boeing new demand for Aero diapers

[Darkfinn]

It is certainly possible that oil could have evaporated from the surface waters in the gulf and made it up your way. Geologists and Meteorologists have been warning about that possibility since the great spill started. However it is more likely that you just had something on your windshield.

[PrincessDragonette]

From what I've read meteorologists have said the notion of "oily rain" is a complete myth and "impossible" (their words). I think it's far more likely that oil on the road surface splashed up on your windshield.

"Oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, and I don't see how these separate components could evaporate and then recombine in the atmosphere and come down as something like oil." - Professor Mestas-Nunez, Texas A&M. ABC News

Although he later goes on to say that it is not unprecedented for evaporated hydrocarbons to recombine with different elements and fall back to earth as... something. Just not crude oil.

"The oil and surfactants that are out in the Gulf are very complex chemical compounds," he said. "How they evaporate, how they recombine with different elements, and their solubility with water could be very complicated and has not been studied. What we have going on now in the Gulf is a huge science experiment and research needs to be done on it."

Polluted, possibly toxic rain? Yes. Oily rain? Supposedly impossible.

[Guest NaughtyAshes]

I don't think he was using the word 'oily'...so ridgedly. He was just noting the crap on his car from the rain and noting the coincidence of a near by crap producing disaster that may be the cause.

[square_duck]

As mentioned above, I don't believe that oil could 'evaporate' and recombine with atmosphere moisture to coma back down a 'oily rain'

1) oil and water don't mix and

2) I am not sure at what temperature crude oil would evaporate, emitting 'vapors', but it is more likely to be much higher then that of water.

3)I believe the oil molecules are to big to be able to evaporate and be carried as a 'vapor' into the atmosphere.

here in California, we has some very sever dust storms and brush fires throwing all sorts of crap into the atmosphere a few years ago. It was so bad in fact that it literally rained Mud! I only know that because I had just washed my car (as usual) the day before and I came out and it was covered in brown 'rain drops' which was really puzzling to see and frustrating because I had just washed my car too

Anyways, I have a friend in Florida and I asked her about "oily rain' earlier and she said she had'nt seen anything like that down her way.

It might be possible for the crap that they are using on the oil to evaporate and mix with clouds and come back as some kind of odd ball stuff, I don't know. I don't know enough about the product, or how it works... *shrug*

Maguires makes a good car wash soap though....

qwack

[PArms]

The water in clouds in not necessarily pure. Unless the temp is less than -40° (C or F) water doesn't freeze without a nucleus. Usually that nucleus is dust. Sometimes it's volcanic ash or some other toxic (sulfur compound) airborne particle. This includes airplanes (which can result in fatalities when too much is accumulated). If the temp is colder, the water vapor will go through a process called deposition where it goes straight to an ice crystal. These form the pretty "mare's tails" that we know as cirrus clouds.

Not being an expert in organic chemistry, I lack the knowledge of whether crude oil will be able to evaporate. Refined oil and alcohols will evaporate at very low temps. I'm not sure what they would combine with. I do know that when it's raining, the drops can create enough friction to pull the air down with it. These are known as downdrafts. Bugs, dust and airplanes can be pulled down when the drafts are powerful enough. If there is oil suspended in the atmosphere, it's possible that the oil can be brought down with the rain, though not mixed with the water droplets.

Some oily substances don't easily burn away, such as poison ivy. If you try to burn it, you will just release the oil into the air and possibly inhale it (which is WAY worse than touching that stuff).

[:gremlin]

a water spout could take the oil from the surface and bring it up in to the cloud layer ware it would stay until it rained back down. this has happened to fish and frogs. this is what every one is worried about.

[TDL]

When I saw the title, I thought of something else . But no, I'm not expecting any oily rain anytime soon...

[DailyDi]

It happened again! Clean car - rain - dirty car. Maybe it's not oil, but what the hell is in the air here???

[square_duck]

It happened again! Clean car - rain - dirty car. Maybe it's not oil, but what the hell is in the air here???

AH! BP is also burning off oil and what ever that they cannot process or ship off to refiners, so it might be soot from the burning oil....thats just a guess, since this is now a 'recurring issue'

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/16/national/main6587834.shtml

[babyfett]

Maybe the ash from that volcano that gave Europe fits finally made it around the globe?

I live near Atlanta and have the same stuff on my car.

[square_duck]

Maybe the ash from that volcano that gave Europe fits finally made it around the globe?

I live near Atlanta and have the same stuff on my car.

Typical Volcano, always being a pain with the ash!

Ahem....anyways...I live in California and if that was the case I think that stuff would be showing up here first, since the global trade winds blow east from the west. we don't get much rain here in the summer, but it has been over cast and cloudy and cool here in the Los Angeles area the last 2 weeks, which is unusual for this time of year *shrug*. I just haven't noticed a lot of junk on my car like whats being described.....who knows?