What are Virga clouds

A Weather & Radar user sent us these virga clouds snapped in Motherwell last year, their wispy tails catch the eye but do you know why they form?

Strictly speaking, these are rainclouds except that the rain isn’t reaching the ground. Instead, the rain creates a trail forming the wispy tails, these are known as virga.

On occasions with a low sun and winds these can create a stunning sight with twisting tails reflecting the light.

So, what happens to the rain? In some instances, it simply evaporates before reaching the ground.

Rain could also sublime as it reaches a patch of warm or dry air. In meteorological terms, to sublime is a process of a solid substance changing to vapour when heated.

Since virga can appear with many types of precipitation there is no one cloud most closely associated with the effect.

If you spot virga in your area we would love to see! Snap a picture and send it to us using our uploader or tap the camera icon in the app.