Clouds have been few and far between in recent days. The ones that formed Sunday, however, looked a little different, right?
I pointed out on air Sunday morning how they looked like "jellyfish clouds," which is what some folks actually call them.
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A more technical term is virga.
These clouds were likely at airplane cruising altitude, where the air is colder.
The wispy appearance to the clouds is an indication that a) they're mostly comprised of ice and b) they're susceptible to the stronger wind often seen at that level.
What about the tail-like appearance?
What you're seeing is the cloud attempting to rain or snow. As that moves downward, it moves into drier air and evaporates/sublimates.
After a soggy September, it's been hard to get any rain to reach ground level in October. At RDU, we've picked up 0.01" of rain. That makes for the second-driest October on record.
Hardly any rain is forecast for at least the next seven days.
The last time we had a completely dry North Carolina State Fair was in 2016 - immediately following Hurricane Matthew.
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