What Does SH Mean in a METAR?
SH means showers. It stands for SHowers.
SH in a real report
SHRA
That reads as rain showers (SHSN would be snow showers).
What it changes for you
The SH descriptor tells you the cloud is convective, and that changes what to
expect between the cells rather than in them.
Showers start and stop abruptly. Visibility can drop and recover within a mile, and the gaps are often genuinely clear. Steady rain from a stratiform layer does none of that.
What it implies about the ride
Convective cloud grows upward, so expect turbulence and shifting wind under the
cells even with no thunderstorm. A SHRA report with a low ceiling flies very
differently from a RA report at the same numbers.
Related codes
Decode a report containing this code
Paste a METAR, TAF, PIREP or SIGMET into the WxDecoder decoder. Every group comes back in plain English. The raw code sits beside it, so you can check the decode rather than trust it.
Frequently asked questions
What does SH mean in a METAR?
Showers. It is a descriptor attached to precipitation, so SHRA is rain showers and SHSN is snow showers. Showers come from convective cloud and start and stop abruptly rather than setting in.
What is the difference between RA and SHRA?
RA is steady rain from a layer of stratiform cloud. SHRA is showery rain from convective cloud, which means it starts and stops quickly and can change intensity sharply within a short distance.