What does shower mean? What is the difference between shower and light rain?

Introduction: In the rainy season, it is easy to rain. Sometimes it rains, and sometimes it rains heavily, which can catch passers-by off guard. So, what do showers mean? What is the difference between a shower and a light rain?

What does a shower mean?

A shower means a rain that is short-lived, starts and ends suddenly, and has a large change in precipitation intensity. Sometimes accompanied by lightning and thunder, it mostly occurs in summer. Showers have the characteristics of discontinuity, are generally small in scope, carry rain streamers, and are often accompanied by strong winds.

Characteristics of showers:

1. Showers mostly occur in summer when the temperature is high, but also occur in the other three seasons;

2. Rainfall is variable , come and go quickly, rain is short;

3. Time is discontinuous, come and go quickly, or come and go;

4. Discontinuity in space, range Uneven distribution;

5. Discontinuity in intensity, which becomes larger every hour.

The difference between showers and light rain

The amount of rainfall is different, and showers rain more.

As "light rain" in daily spoken language, it means "not heavy rain". The general situation is: the raindrops are clearly visible, there is no floating phenomenon, there is no splashing on the ground, water accumulates slowly in depressions, and the sound of rain on the house is weak. , there is only water dripping from the eaves, and I can walk short distances in the rain without an umbrella without getting all my clothes wet.

Precipitation is a key physical process connecting weather, climate, water cycle and other aspects. It is also the ultimate source of clean water that supports ecosystems and human survival. Studying changes and predictions of precipitation is extremely important for meteorology and climate. important. In precipitation research, precipitation amount, precipitation intensity, and precipitation frequency are the main research aspects.

In recent years, my country’s precipitation has shown the characteristics of floods in the south and drought in the north. The precipitation intensity has an increasing trend, but the annual precipitation frequency has shown a consistent decreasing trend, and drought and flood events have increased at the same time. Judging from the average situation, the amount of small-scale precipitation mainly depends on the change in the number of rainy days, and this pattern is consistent with annual precipitation, seasonal precipitation, and monthly precipitation. In previous studies, more attention was paid to extreme heavy rainfall that can easily lead to floods, while relatively little attention was paid to light rain.

The sum of light rain and moderate rain accounts for more than 60% of the annual precipitation in most areas of my country, especially the vast areas in the north, and the significant reduction of trace precipitation events has contributed to the drought problem in northern my country. As reflected in the study, the decrease in the frequency of light rain has become the main reason for the decrease in precipitation frequency.

What is the difference between thunderstorms and showers

1. Different seasons

Thunderstorms: Usually thundershowers occur in summer in our country, and usually occur in the Jiangnan area in spring and autumn. Thunderstorms are less likely to occur in winter or after October. When a thunderstorm occurs, there is usually lightning, thunder, wind and rain, which come and go quickly. When it comes, there are usually strong winds, blowing down big trees, etc.

Showers: Showers are usually sudden rains on a sunny and windy summer day. Showers usually cover a wide area and are unpredictable. The raindrops are relatively large and last for a long time.

2. The difference between discharges

Showers are formed by the movement of cold air in a short period of time, followed by cooling. It can be over in a short time, and the cloud movement is not violent.

Thunderstorms also have large-scale cloud movements, which are much more violent than showers. Accompanied by discharge phenomenon.

3. Different definitions

Thunderstorm is a shower phenomenon accompanied by thunder and lightning. Produced under thunderstorm cumulonimbus clouds. It manifests as large-scale cloud movement, which is much more violent than showers. It is also accompanied by discharge phenomena and is common in summer.

Showers, falling from cumulonimbus clouds, are rains that are short-lived, start and end suddenly, and vary greatly in precipitation intensity. Sometimes accompanied by lightning and thunder, it mostly occurs in summer. Showers have the characteristics of discontinuity, are generally small in scope, carry rain streamers, and are often accompanied by strong winds.

4. Different characteristics

Looking at the time of day, thunderstorms mostly occur in the afternoon and evening. On land, there are more opportunities to form "thermal thunderstorms" when thermal convection is strong in summer afternoons. At sea, because the sea surface cools slowly at night, the air is very unstable, so night thunderstorms often occur. When thunderstorms are generated near the front, frontal thunderstorms can also be generated. In mountainous areas, terrain rain may occur.

Thunderstorms are generally bursty and often have strong winds. Sometimes it is accompanied by tornadoes and hail. Continuous and severe thunderstorms often reach the level of heavy rain. The most active thunderstorm areas in the world are in the tropics and mountains. There are an average of 75-100 thunderstorm days in the tropics every year, 20-50 thunderstorm days in the mid-latitudes, only a few thunderstorm days in the polar regions, and no thunderstorms north of 82 degrees north latitude throughout the year.

Showers mostly occur in summer when the temperature is high, and they also occur from time to time in the other three seasons. The amount of rainfall is irregular, and it comes and goes quickly. It rains for a short period of time and is not continuous. It comes and goes quickly, or sometimes it doesn’t. ; Discontinuity in space, that is, uneven distribution in range, discontinuity in intensity, which is larger every hour.

5. Different degrees of intensity

Thunderstorms are much more severe than showers, and are also accompanied by discharges. Before they come, there are often weather phenomena of strong winds and thunderstorms.

When strong winds come, sand and rocks fly away, turning off roofs and knocking down walls. During the wind and rain, things on the street danced with the wind, flying everywhere, and even uprooting big trees.