At first I thought it was just the birds dropping dates on the tin roof of my room again , then it I heard again , and again , and again , faster and faster ... I opened my door and drops of water were falling from the sky hitting the deck ! One by one the doors came open , everyone peaking out of respective their rooms , where we ' ve hid from the heat of summer days for months . Everyone was smiling , it 's been over 5 months since was saw rain .

Answer the following question: What caused all of the neighbors to open their doors and observe the storm ?
It smelled of and sounded like rain and they were trying to confirm this