Definition
A short-duration form of precipitation that begins, changes intensity, or ends abruptly, falling from convective (cumuliform) clouds. Showers are characterized by sudden onset, rapid changes in intensity, and quick ending, and may consist of rain, snow, or ice pellets.
Plain English
A burst of rain, snow, or ice pellets that starts and stops quickly and can change intensity fast. It falls from puffy, vertically built clouds rather than the flat, layered ones that produce steady drizzle.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter this word in weather briefings, airport weather reports, and forecasts when precipitation may be brief and changeable rather than steady.
Derivation
Shower comes from an old English word meaning a sudden fall of rain or hail. That origin helps because the aviation weather meaning still points to precipitation that comes in a burst rather than as a long, steady event.
Why Pilots Care
Showers can bring quick drops in visibility, gusty winds, and turbulence that affect takeoff, landing, and enroute decisions.
Grounding Statement
A blue sky can turn into a few minutes of heavy rain as a shower passes over the airport, then improve again soon after it moves away.
Intuition Check
Do not read shower as just any rain. In aviation weather, a shower means precipitation that is usually brief, starts and stops more suddenly than steady rain, and can change strength quickly.
Example Sentence 1
The TAF showed SHRA between 1800Z and 2000Z, so the pilot planned for brief but intense rain showers during arrival.
Example Sentence 2
Convective showers along the route produced gusty surface winds and occasional turbulence.