According to a patent filing (US20260249188) for Mario Kart World, the rain triggered by the Lighting item doesn’t fall in the entire map, but only in a circular area around each player. Since the racer ranked #1 is likely a slippery customer, their rainfall area is enlarged to prevent them from outrunning it easily (“62” in image below).
[Sidebar] Due to the map being open-world, Mario Kart World’s weather system is based on a hexagonal grid, as seen in the image above.
Related: How racers are ranked in Mario Kart World
[Originally posted on 2026-09-03 Pacific Time]
