What is the difference between rain and showers?
A10. “Shower” is used to describe precipitation that is discontinuous. “Showers” are characterized by the suddenness with which they start and stop, by the rapid changes of intensity, and usually by rapid changes in the appearance of the sky. In western Washington, when the forecast calls for a high probability of showers, you would usually expect breaks in the rain with sun breaks between showers. A forecast for “showers” does not usually imply a complete washout, or all-day rain. “Rain”, or stratiform precipitation, is relatively continuous and uniform in intensity (i.e., steady rain versus rain showers). “Rain” will usually develop gradually, last for hours, and then end gradually. All-day washout type rains are described by the term “rain”.
