Question

other ways to say "the rain fell in drenching sheets?"

Answer 1

Sure — here are many alternatives, grouped by tone so you can pick what fits your sentence:

Poetic / literary
- The sky opened and unleashed a deluge.
- Rain fell in a curtain of water.
- A curtain of rain draped the landscape.
- The heavens poured forth a torrent.
- Rain cascaded like a waterfall.
- The sky wept in sheets of silver.

Dramatic / violent
- Rain lashed the streets.
- Rain hammered the rooftops.
- The storm dumped a relentless deluge.
- A wall of rain slammed into the town.
- Torrential rain pummeled everything.
- The rain came down in a barrage.

Neutral / descriptive
- It poured down.
- A heavy downpour began.
- Rain came down in torrents.
- Rain fell in relentless sheets.
- A steady, soaking rain set in.
- The rain came down in buckets.

Casual / conversational
- It was pouring.
- It started bucketing down.
- The heavens opened.
- It rained cats and dogs.
- It absolutely poured.

Imagery / metaphorical
- The sky opened its floodgates.
- A river of rain ran across the pavement.
- A blinding wall of rain rolled through.
- Sheets of water streamed from the clouds.
- Rain sluiced from the clouds like ropes.

If you tell me the tone or sentence you’re working with, I can suggest one that fits exactly or rephrase your whole sentence.