"Rain" Showers

Today's forecast from the National Weather Service mentions a chance of "rain showers" tonight. I hate it when they have to start clarifying what type of precipitation to expect in their forecasts. During the summer, a forecast of "showers" implies that said showers will be of the liquid variety because, quite obviously, it doesn't snow during the summer. When the word "rain" precedes the word "showers" in the forecast, it is as sure of a sign as any that winter will soon follow. The next step in this unfortunate transition is to mention "rain or snow showers", followed by the inevitable "snow showers". On the other hand, it is quite uplifting when the sequence is reversed in the spring. It is especially exciting when the word "thunderstorms" is included in the forecast for the first time after a long winter. That's a word we probably won't be seeing much for a few months.