Young photographer Angelina Widmann captured this stunning shot during an open-air performance of Madame Butterfly on the eastern shore of Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance) in Bregenz, Austria. Angelina noted how the “the rain made the plot even more dramatic”. This photo was taken with a telephoto lens due to the distance between Angelina and the stage. She used a short exposure to capture the falling drops, before sprinting to safety to avoid damaging her camera!
Bregenz is one of the wettest spots around Bodensee, due to its proximity to the mountains, receiving over 1600mm of rainfall per year. Perhaps this explains why the opera singers bravely continued their performances, even as the audience fled the arena in the sudden downpour! In the summer, monthly rainfall amounts can reach 200mm in Bregenz, most likely associated with summertime convection enhanced by moist air from the lake being lifted by the mountainous terrain
As the atmosphere warms due to greenhouse gas emissions, the amount of water vapour in the air also increases. Additional water vapour means that when it rains, it pours. A change to more intense rainfall has already been observed in Europe and across the world. Although infrequent, such downpours can disrupt leisure activities, as well as transport, infrastructure and industry, so accurate forecasting of extreme rainfall will become increasingly important as our climate changes.
Photo location: Bregenz, Austria Photographer based: AustriaCamera: Nikon Z6, with Nikkor 200-500 mm f5.6