(NATIONAL) — As we head into spring storm season, some will enjoy not only the sights but also the smells of a rainstorm. But how is the smell of rain created in the first place?

The smell of rain has name, it’s called petrichor. It comes from the Greek word petra meaning stone and ichor which allegedly is the name given to golden fluid that runs through and immortals veins. In a sense petrichor is made from the rain drops interaction with certain kinds of things found in the ground.

First raindrops can interact with chemicals called geosmin which are released by bacteria in the ground. When the raindrops hit the chemical, it creates that earthy smell of rain. Petrichor can also be created when raindrops hit oils in the ground that is secreted from plants.

One other source of petrichor that is more unrelated to water is when lightning splits actual molecules of oxygen and those individual oxygen molecules attach to oxygen molecules that are still intact. When this happens, the molecule for O3 is made, which is also called ozone.