Difference Between "Rain" and "Showers"

Today may be a very example to distinguish the difference between what many forecasters call rain and showers.
KOMO4 news has a good FAQ section for a lot of the weird weather we have around here in the northwest (it is also where I work as an intern :) ) including a good presentation of what showers and rain look like on radar http://www.komonews.com/weather/faq/4308002.html .

In essence, rain is more widespread and showers are more scattered. You may have heard the term a "front" before and when we get a front from the Pacific moving through, we experience rain. We are special here on the West coast. When these fronts pass by, the air behind it is very unstable. A stable environment would be warmer air OVER colder air, the colder air being more dense and wanting to stay below the warmer air. An unstable environment is very common over the ocean because the ocean mediates the air temperature up a few thousand feet. So what you get is colder air OVER the warmer air. This is unstable and would induce "mixing" in the atmosphere with the colder air wanting to sink and the warmer air wanting to rise. This scenario also creates clouds. So when the fronts move through, West Coast cities are left with clouds, instability, and showers. Around other parts of the country? The air behind fronts (cold fronts is the main focus) is very STABLE with cold and dry air behind. They don't get showers after fronts. Typically it's quite clear (don't be too jealous, they also get thunder, hail, and tornadoes, more on why that is in another blog).

Take advantage of these "shower" days because they are typically short lived and there is sun in between :)