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Often you hear people talk of praying to the weather gods - but who exactly are they? Here are the top 10, ranked in terms of general ferocity.

10 - Utixo (Khoikhoi, Africa) - Utixo or Tiqua was a god of the Khoi, a benevolent deity who lived in the sky, sending rain for the crops, and speaking with thunder.

9 - Mamaragan (Aboriginal) - God of Thunder and Lightning. Speaks with a booming voice of pure thunder. When the mood takes him, he rides a vast black storm cloud across the sky, throwing great bolts of lightning down to Earth in a terrifying display of power. So it's something of a disappointment to discover that when it's not raining he actually lives in a puddle.

8 - Boreas (Greece) - Boreas, fearsomely strong with a temper, is the god of the north wind. In Greek mythology, Boreas was closely associated with horses. He was said to have fathered twelve colts after taking the form of a stallion, to the mares of Erichthonius, king of Troy. These were said to be able to run across a field of grain without trampling the plants. Pliny (Natural History iv.35 and viii.67) thought that mares might stand with their hindquarters to the North Wind, and bear foals without a stallion.

7 - Thor (Norse) - Probably the best known weather god, Thor, the red-haired and bearded god of thunder and war in Norse Mythology, is not as fearsome as his reputation, given the present company. He rides through the storm clouds in a chariot pulled by goats and throws his hammer all over the place to create lightning.

6 - Mug Ruith (Ireland) - In Irish mythology, Mug Ruith (or Mogh Roith, "slave of the wheel") was a powerful blind druid of Munster who lived on Valentia Island, County Kerry. He could grow to enormous size, and his breath caused storms and turned men to stone. He wore a hornless bull-hide and a bird mask, and flew in a machine called the roth rámach, the "oared wheel". He had an ox-driven chariot in which night was as bright as day, a star-speckled black shield with a silver rim, and a stone which could turn into a poisonous eel when thrown in water.

5 - Fei Lian (China) - The Chinese god of the wind, direct translation would be "flying curtain". He is a winged dragon with the head of stag, a snake's tail and carry wind in a bag. He is a trouble-stirrer, but he is kept in check by Houyi, the heavenly archer. The tyrant's, wicked ministers that would walk with unbelievable quickness. Both he and his son were killed while serving the tyrant. In his human form he is known as Feng Bo.

4 - Indra (Hindu) - Indra is the god of weather and war, and lord of Svargaloka in Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred text of Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash character. Indra is an important god in many Hindu mythological tales. He leads the Devas (the gods who form and maintain Heaven and the elements, such as Agni (Fire), Varuna (Water) and Surya (Sun), and constantly wages war against the demonic Asuras of the netherworlds, or Patala, who oppose morality and dharma. He thus fights in the timeless battle between good and evil. Indra's weapon, which he used to kill Vritra, (with the help of other gods), is the thunderbolt (Vajra), though he also uses a bow, a net and a hook. He rides a large, four-tusked white elephant called Airavata.

3 - Nuberu (Asturias, Spain) - According to Asturian mythology, the Nuberu - literally "The Cloud Master" is the Asturian divinity of clouds and storms. He is said to act depending on how he is treated. If farmers are good to him, he will send that rain which helps the crops to grow strong and abundant. But if he believes he is badly treated, he becomes particularly vindictive and sends ice, heavy, destructive rain and storms to devastate crops. To those he particularly hates, he sends a rain of frogs.

2 - Fujin (Japan) - The Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He was present at the creation of the world and when he first let the winds out of his bag, they cleared the morning mists and filled the space between heaven and earth so the sun shone. He is portrayed as a terrifying dark demon wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.

and the winner is......

1 - Tlaloc (Aztec) - Much feared rain god. The Aztecs believed that Tlaloc was responsible for both floods and droughts, and that he had been created by the other gods. He is commonly depicted as a goggle-eyed blue being with fangs. Human sacrifices were often made in his honor, usually children. Before the victims were sacrificed, their tears were collected in a ceremonial bowl, to serve as an offering. His priests killed and ate babies to promote rain, which only appeared if the babies cried before death, and they sometimes made children cry before the ritual sacrifice by tearing off their nails.

What was necessary to make it stop raining we won't even try to imagine. I think I prefer global warming as a cause of increased rainfall.