Dear Tom,
I am puzzled by information in the Other U.S. Cities and World Cities sections. They indicate showers at very low temperatures: Pittsburgh, showers, high 15, low 7, and Moscow, showers, high 10, low 2. Can showers occur with temperatures so low?
— Rosemarie
Dear Rosemarie,
The term “shower” is a descriptor of how a precipitation type is occurring. In other words, showers can describe a fall of rain, snow, sleet or any other type of precipitation. Showers describe precipitation that features rapid changes in intensity, often starting and stopping abruptly. Showers also suggest that the precipitation is measurable. Showers are produced when a cloud-bearing layer of atmosphere is unstable, leading to vertically developed clouds and bursts of precipitation. With temperatures in the teens and single digits, “showers” most likely is intended to describe snowfall.
