Difference Between Showers and Rain

Showers vs Rain
 

Showers and rain are two words used in Meteorology often, which makes it necessary to understand the difference between the two if we are to know what weather condition to expect exactly. If you look at the weekly weather prediction of a newspaper or a TV channel, you may encounter the word heavy rain on a few days and scattered showers on other days of the week. Whether or not you understand the true difference between rain and shower, you do know that it means to venture out prepared with an umbrella or a raincoat. Let us find out the difference between rain and shower.

What are Showers?

According to the Oxford dictionary a shower is “a brief and usually light fall of rain, hail, sleet, or snow. ”Whether rain or a shower, it all depends upon the kind of cloud it comes from. Showers result from cumuliform clouds that are a combination of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. Though, one often hears of showers of hail and snow but when snow or hail is involved, different names are used in place of showers. If you hear or read simply showers, you can be pretty sure that it is talking about showers of rain. Cumulus clouds and cumulonimbus clouds are thunderstorm clouds that produce very heavy rains. Heaviest rains one can experience are in the form of rain showers. Commentators in baseball games mostly call the passing showers as few clouds lash the grounds, and such an event is a localized event. Showers are scattered, and not everyone in the city gets wet. Showers are also for a short duration (as in passing showers).

What is Rain?

On the other hand, it is stratiform clouds that are responsible for rains. Altostratus and nimbostratus are two stratiform clouds that are rain bearing, and of the two, nimbostratus is thicker and produces heavier rains.In general, the word rain is more commonly used in daily parlance to refer to a phenomenon that is more widespread and covers a lot of areas. Unlike showers, rains lash a larger area and are widespread. Moreover, rains continue for long time periods, unlike passing showers.

What is the difference between Showers and Rain?

• Showers are not widespread like rains.

• Showers are of shorter duration than rains.

• Showers can be pretty heavy, but are scattered and not every person who is out in an area is likely to be wet when showers are taking place.

• Whether rain or a shower, it all depends upon the kind of cloud it comes from.

• Showers result from cumuliform clouds that are a combination of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds.

• On the other hand, it is stratiform clouds that are responsible for rains.

• Altostratus and nimbostratus are two stratiform clouds that are rain bearing.

• There are also showers of hail and snow, but when referring to these different names are used in the place of showers.

• When one uses only the term showers, it refers to showers of rain without argument.