Praecipitatio

Definition

A supplementary cloud feature indicating that precipitation is reaching the ground from the cloud, whether or not it is visible as a shaft. It can be applied to stratus, stratocumulus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, altostratus and nimbostratus.

Field note

The distinction from virga is exactly the ground beneath the cloud: praecipitatio means the drops arrive, virga means they do not. Getting this wrong is the most common source of a false rain report.

Related terms

• Virga · virga
• Nimbostratus · Nimbostratus
• Cumulonimbus · Cumulonimbus