1. Cloudburst

A sudden, heavy, downpour that starts and ends suddenly, normally covering a small geographical area. Cloudbursts are often responsible for flash floods. The term cloudburst derived from the notion that clouds are like water balloons, releasing copious amounts of water when burst.

2. Spitting

On the other end of the spectrum is this rather unpleasant term for light rain that you can only just see. We might say it’s spitting when it's just started to rain, with this type of barely-there rainfall often preceding a heavier downpour.

3. Picking

Where the English use spitting, the Welsh might use picking. The word comes from the Welsh word pigan meaning “starting to rain”.

4. Mizzle

A misty drizzle. The term is commonly used in Devon and Cornwall to describe a mixture of fine drizzle and thick, saturating mist or fog. Although mizzle might seem like a clever portmanteau combining mist and drizzle, it likely derives from the Low German miseln or Dutch word for drizzle, miezelen.