If you remember June 13, 2008 for anything, remember it for the Great Deluge of June 13, 2008.

The whole thing got off to a head start just around 16:30. Your Beijingologist, who also happens to be an info expert and translator at the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, saw the skies outside turn from grey to greyish-black. He knew this thing called a "storm" was not far away. Fellow Tweeters on Twitter started the pre-precip chatter.

Things looked gloomier after 17:00 set in, with the sky darkening all over the place. Yours truly drove out the museum in nearly pitch darkness, and the droplets soon made their way... first to Chongwenmen, then to Guangqumen, and finally to Jianguomen. When the rain came, it erupted in full force in Dongdan, where it looked like Ma Nature made an abrupt call for nature.

Your Beijingologist does about 5 liters of ice tea in one hour, but it looked like Ma Nature set a new record in this context. Rain poured down incessantly as the Beijingologist's car rolled into the Oriental Plaza underground carpark.

A quick Subway trip didn't see things any drier. Possibly due to the above-ground meteo brouhaha (or a bad aircon), Line 2 train T4202 started leaking. Ma Nature was just too powerful for this one. Meanwhile, we also heard reports saying that Zhichunlu Subway Station on Line 13, and later on Lishuiqiao Subway Station on Line 5 (and Line 13, too) went out of service. Pics from local metro fan forums showcased a wet Zhichunlu station, with all that rain pouring onto the rails and making its way into the innards of Zhichunlu station itself!

The Great Deluge, June 13, 2008. Please get ready for your arrival for a summer of mass H2O downpours. Let's just hope that the worst is over before August 8, 2008.