Field record · precipitation
Rain shaft
Look for vertical or slanted streaks connecting cloud base toward the surface; distance and lighting can make a shaft appear denser or lighter.
editorial synthesisscale · columnstructure · streak
How it forms
Liquid precipitation falls from cloud when droplets or melted hydrometeors become large enough to descend through the air column.
What separates it from a neighbor
If visible fallstreaks evaporate or sublimate before reaching the ground, the feature is virga rather than surface-reaching precipitation.
Representation boundary
Show the connection to cloud base and horizon; label whether ground contact is observed or only inferred.
Evidence boundary. This page separates a sourced formation explanation from the editorial “visual character” phrase above. A single image or casual observation may not contain enough context to classify a real phenomenon confidently.
Sources used for this record
NOAA NESDIS — Atmosphere Educational Resourcesgovernment education
Weather, rain, clouds, wind and atmosphere learning resources.
Open source ↗WMO International Cloud Atlas — Virgainstitutional standard
Definition and occurrence of virga/fallstreaks.
Open source ↗