It's Raining Milk!

Washington state and northeast Oregon citizens were shocked one February morning to see the sky raindrops the color of milk. People who had to clean their cars said it was raining mud, pointing to their vehicles covered in the strange colored rain. While it puzzled scientists, many believe that dust is what gave this rainstorm its white hue. Though, it is unclear where the dust came from, especially as it was a windless day.

A picture of the milky rain on a red car, giving it a white sheen.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Weather Service

The inland Northwest is a dry area, prone to dust storms, hence the idea of the rain being filled with dust. Surprisingly enough, people caught in this storm are actually used to it, but only in the summer months. This particular storm happened in the winter, hence the puzzling of even the experts.

It is very possible that a strong wind carried the dust in, blew it high into the atmosphere, and then mixed with the rain over the areas. A large dust storm in Nevada was expected to be the culprit, yet weather computer programs that track and predict particle movement showed that this was not the cause.

Other meteorologists believe that volcanic activity in Russia was the culprit, yet this would make the substance in the rain predominantly ash. If it was ash then these rains would have affected western Washington, which it did not.

Samples were taken of the rain to be analyzed and later results showed that the rain was heavy in sodium, aluminum, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, and organic carbon. It is still unclear where the elements came from, but luckily the sample showed that there was no public health risk during rainfall.


Original Article by Laura Geggel found here: http://kidsahead.com/external/article/1172