Rain Cloud Name?

July 1, 2008 1:25 PM

There is a name for a cloud formation that is dropping rain in a vertical "funnel" similar to this photo. The word might be Native American or Arabic, might start with a "Y" and I'm going insane trying to remember it.
posted by atomicmedia to science & nature (3 comments total)

Rain that falls from clouds but doesn't hit the ground is called virga. I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for, though.
posted by MrVisible at 1:33 PM on July 1, 2008

that may be it, thanks so much...i had only heard it on the radio 2 years ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy!
posted by atomicmedia at 1:58 PM on July 1, 2008

Here's a good image of virga that seems to match yours pretty well.

I heard this term in an astronomy class I had a couple of years back, and the word was so beautiful it stuck with me.
posted by MrVisible at 2:02 PM on July 1, 2008