Here comes the rain again: how cities modify the weather

US study confirms that communities living downwind of cities are likely to have more rainfall

Does it ever feel like the rain always falls where you live? You may have a point. It has long been known that urban environments modify their own weather, and a study has confirmed that cities also modify the weather in the surrounding area, with communities living downwind of a city more likely to bear the brunt of the rain.

Acres of tarmac, skyscrapers and miles of suburbs all alter the amount of solar energy that land absorbs and re-radiates. The built environment modifies the weather that a city receives; but how far does a city's influence over the weather extend?