Hi! Enjoying this thread. We call the long, steady rain "well fillers."
Whereas the short bursts of heavy rain that run off rather than sinking into the earth are called "frog chokers."
Have felt only minor tremors as far as earthquakes go - here in New Hampshire - and am in no hurry to feel a "real" quake. What concerns me about the New England "faults" is that one runs right under the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant -just about four miles away as the crow flies across the salt water marsh!