Virga

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/virga

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific classification?A meteorological phenomenon of evaporating precipitation
2. What is the primary formation mechanism?Evaporation or sublimation of precipitation in unsaturated air
3. Where can you see virga?Virga is often seen in dry places like the Western United States, Canada’s Prairies, the Middle East, Australia, and North Africa, especially when clouds are high and the air below is very dry.
4. Why does virga disappear before it hits the ground?When the falling precipitation enters warmer, drier air, it turns back into vapor or ice, so it evaporates or sublimates and never reaches the surface.

Sublimation: The direct transition of a substance from the solid to the gaseous state without passing through the liquid state.
Evaporative Cooling: The reduction in temperature resulting from the evaporation of a liquid, driven by the absorption of latent heat.
Microburst: A localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm, typically less than 2.5 miles (4 km) in diameter, which can cause damaging straight-line winds.
Adiabatic Warming: The increase in temperature of a gas or air parcel as it is compressed, without heat being added from an external source.