1
general::
it’s raining
drops of water are falling from the sky:
• It’s raining – you’d better take an umbrella.
it’s pouring (down)
British English , it’s pouring (rain) American English it is raining very heavily:
• We stayed at home because it was pouring down all day.
it’s chucking it down
British English informal it is raining very heavily:
• Outside it was chucking it down and the streets were deserted.
it’s drizzling
very gentle rain is falling:
• It’s only drizzling – let’s go for a walk anyway.
it’s hailing
frozen rain in the form of small balls of ice are falling:
• It had been hailing and the roads were still slippery.
Longman-Thesaurus