With the weather we have had this week, I started wondering what the difference was between showers and drizzle. If you stand outside in either one the end result is pretty much the same. You get wet. Maybe a bit faster in one than the other, but you still get wet. So why does the forecast keep saying showers and drizzle?
It comes down to size. Rain drops are bigger than drizzle. It’s all still liquid precipitation, but it’s the size that makes the difference.
Like many things weather related, we probably all have our own definitions as to what may be falling from the sky at any one time. Rain and drizzle are liquid. Showers can be liquid or solid, which is why we get snow showers. And possibly why the forecast may specify rain showers. But when it comes to liquid showers, they are just less frequent than rain. They can often come from individual clouds, but they tend to take more breaks than outright rain. Rain also tends to be associated more with frontal systems and can be much more widespread.
Drizzle, on the other hand is just a small version. If the drops have a diameter of less than 0.5 millimeters, it’s drizzle. It’s it’s bigger than that it’s rain.
Now this is just a general rule of thumb. No one is out there measuring the drops, telling ones that are too big they have to go back up to the clouds until they slim down a bit. And unlike what they say about snow, small drops of drizzle don’t mean you’re going to get greater accumulation. Thankfully.
But if you wonder whether or not it drizzle or rain, it all comes down to the size of the drops. But if you’re going outside to measure, wear a rain coat. Either way you’ll probably get wet.