My French teacher taught me a memorable turn of phrase:

"Il pleut comme une vache qui pisse."

Which is what it is doing today, pissing down rain.
Certainly needed, though. There are as many leaves on the ground as there are remaining on the trees; and the drier the weather, the more the dried-up leaves contribute to dust and dander and everything. It was time for things to be safely damped down. At least it is warm enough, for some reason, not to have frost or freezes making things wintry tonight.