A stray shower is a rain shower that does not develop into a thunderstorm. It usually lasts for less than 15 minutes, and it does not produce much rain.

Stray showers are usually small and scattered, but they can sometimes be numerous and widespread. They often occur in the spring when warm air from the Gulf of Mexico moves northward over areas where cold fronts have recently passed, causing an unstable condition in the atmosphere that causes showers to form and dissipate quickly.

Stray showers can also occur after a thunderstorm due to the formation of cumulus clouds in the wake of the storm’s passage. This happens because the moist air that was lifted upward by the thunderstorm cools as it rises through the atmosphere, causing clouds to form at higher altitudes.

Last modified: October 14, 2022