Definition
In a METAR, SH is a descriptor used in the present weather group to indicate showery precipitation — precipitation that is brief, often intense, and produced by convective (cumuliform) clouds rather than by steady, layered cloud systems. SH is never used alone; it is paired with a precipitation type, such as SHRA (rain showers), SHSN (snow showers), or SHGR (hail showers).
Plain English
SH is the code that tells you the precipitation is coming in shower form — short bursts from building, lumpy clouds, rather than steady rain or snow from a flat overcast.
Context Anchor
Seen in METAR present-weather groups, where short weather codes describe what is happening at or near the reporting airport.
Derivation
From the everyday word ‘shower,’ meaning a brief fall of rain. In aviation weather coding, the abbreviation keeps the same idea — short, bursty precipitation — but ties it specifically to convective clouds.
Why Pilots Care
Showers can bring sudden drops in visibility, gusty winds, and changing runway conditions that require pilots to adjust their approach or landing plans.
Intuition Check
Do not read showers as simply “rain.” In aviation weather coding, showers means precipitation with a start-and-stop, changeable character, usually from rising-air clouds.
Example Sentence 1
The METAR reported SHRA, so the pilot expected brief, heavy rain showers with possible turbulence on approach.
Example Sentence 2
With SHSN reported, the crew prepared for brief but intense snow showers during the approach.