Difference between two sentences

[arandomgirl]

Hey, can someone tell me the difference between these sentences:
Recently it hasn't been raining at all. (That's why I didn't take today.)
Recently it hasn't rained at all. (That's why I didn't take bus today.)
Are they even correct? Does it make any difference if we ignore the sentences in brackets?
Thank you.

[5jj]

Recently it hasn't been raining at all. (That's why I didn't take the bus today.)
Recently it hasn't rained at all. (That's why I didn't take the bus today.)

Both are possible, but I think that the non-progressive form is much less likely to be heard.

In the affirmative, the progressive form is at least as likely as the non-progressive, in my opinion.

This is confirmed by COCA, with 35 examples of "it's/has been raining", 25 of" it's/it has rained", 27 of "it hasn't/has not rained".and only one of "it hasn't/has not been raining".

[emsr2d2]

Interestingly, when I was thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that in the positive as opposed to the negative, the past progressive sounds better (to me).

It's been raining a lot recently.

Personally, I would say "It hasn't been raining much recently" (if it had rained a little) but "It hasn't rained at all recently" (if there had been no rain).

I really can't explain why.