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Virga
In
meteorology
,
virga
is an observable or shaft of
precipitation
that falls from a
cloud
but
evaporates
or
sublimes
before reaching the ground. At high
altitudes
the
precipitation
falls mainly as
ice
crystals
before melting and finally evaporating; this is often due to compressional heating, because the
air pressure
increases closer to the ground. It is very common in the
desert
and in
temperate climates
. In North America, it is commonly seen in the
Western United States
and the
Canadian Prairies
. It is also very common in the
Middle East
,
Australia
and
North Africa
.
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