Believe it or not, rain and showers are not the same, there is a difference between both concepts in the weather forecast. Moreover, the World Meteorological Organization explains that while one is continuous and covers more territory, the other begins and ends much more abruptly.
Although it has not been the rainiest in history, this 2022 has left several millimeters of water in different areas of the country, after the rainfall announced by the weather forecast. But, What is the difference between rain and showers?
Several of these concepts appear in the notices that the authorities raise for different areas of Chile. An example is the Preventive Early Warning that several regions had during this week.
What is the difference between rain and showers?
Precipitations of varied intensity, wind and possible electrical storms. This is the weather forecast for today, Friday, July 1, for the regions of Valparaíso and O’Higgins, according to the Chilean Meteorological Directorate.
Many times, the concepts used to describe how the weather will behave during a day seem synonymous, but they have a very different meaning. This is the case of rains and showers.
According to what was explained by Meteoredaccording to the definitions of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), “precipitation consists of the fall to the surface of the Earth of the water of the clouds, either in liquid or solid form”.
In this sense, they explain that rain is a type of liquid precipitation that falls continuously during the prolonged period and covers a wide territorial space.
Instead, showers “are characterized by their abrupt beginning and end”. They also have as main characteristic, the rapid variation in their intensity.
According to the WMO, “usually the drops and solid particles that precipitate in a shower are larger than when it comes to precipitation of lesser intensity.”
In conclusion, the difference between showers and rainis that the former have a greater intensity and a shorter duration than the latter and can cover less territory.
How do the showers look
On certain occasions, panoramic images of some city have gone viral on the Internet, where water falls from the clouds, but only in a certain sector.
These visual records, which usually surprise us, would be the best example of the difference between rain and showers.
Come on! The isolated shower. pic.twitter.com/h3o18w3yjk
– Miguel Borrás (@MiguelBorrs3) April 18, 2021