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Nice Virga photo

Posted at 4:00 PM on September 23, 2009 by Paul Huttner

Fall streaks.jpg
Virga streaks fall from cumulus clouds Sunday. (Photo by Ken Paulman)

Here's something you don't see everyday.

Check out this photo by MPR web editor guru Ken Paulman. He took this from his back deck Sunday around 5pm in West St. Paul looking northeast.

The wispy streaks falling from the cumulus clouds are called Virga. Virga is rainfall that leaves the cloud base but evaporates before it reaches the ground. The clouds were deep enough to produce a few rain shafts, but too shallow to get much of that rain to the surface. There is also a layer of drier air underneath the cloud base that is causing the rain droplets to evaporate.

Virga is quite common in the desert southwest. Pilots know to steer clear of areas like this. Evaporational cooling in the air column underneath these areas can cause severe downdrafts. Dry microbursts can occur near these types of cloud formations.

It's good to know that what's a potential danger to pilots can be so picturesque on the ground.

PH

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