Virga are rains that trail below clouds and never touch ground. And if parts of the rains' icy contents evaporate without even liquefying first, that process is called sublimation. Nature sublimes and creates sublime virga.
I see you're just playing with words, and not really asking a question. But I shot a really good photo of virga a few years ago and thought I'd share it here. It is indeed a sublime phenomenon. Enjoy: http://heimhenge.com/skylights/2010/05/15/qa-rain-that-doesnt/
Brings to mind that classic by Stevie Ray Vaughan, "The Sky is Crying." Truly a beautiful phenomenon, especially around sunrise or sunset when you get the orange-red colors.
Thanks, especially for showing the distinction nicely, from 'ground' rain.
Sometimes the air in between the virga (or thereabout) is moist enough with the result that a rainbow is also hanging off ground.
Yes, I though the side-by-side comparison was a great way to show the difference. I've seen the type of "partial rainbow" you describe, but don't have my own photo. I did find this one at AccuWeather.com. Not sure if it's in virga or just a highly localized rain shower. Hard to tell from the exposure, which was probably optimized for the faint rainbow. Is this what you meant by "hanging off the ground?"
I am not sure that's not because the view itself is cut off behind 2 fog banks .
In this one it looks like the rainbow fades away for lack of moisture below. I've seen like this before.
