First Alert and Find Out: What is Virga?

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Not a drop of rain falling outside, but radar is picking up on precipitation - it’s likely a phenomenon known as Virga.

“Virga”, colloquially dubbed the ‘jellyfish cloud’, stems from the Latin word for “rod” or “branch”, named for its light wispy/streaky appearance extending from the base of clouds. Virga is precipitation that falls from a cloud, but encounters a layer of dry air on its journey to the surface, causing the droplets to evaporate or sublimate.

Virga most frequently occurs with cirrocumulus, altocumulus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus clouds.