Virga Bomb

Add another term to your weather vocabulary: Virga Bomb.

Recently we’ve heard about the polar vortex and the derecho. Now comes virga bomb.

Virga is from the Latin, meaning “twig” or “branch”. I first heard of virga when I moved to New Mexico in 2013. Virga is rain that falls from a cloud but evaporates before it hits the ground. It looks like vertical wispy trails under a cloud.

Over this past weekend, I heard about virga bombs on the TV news. So what are they?

When the rain falls from the cloud and evaporates, it cools the air under the cloud. Cool air is denser than warm air, so the colder air sinks. When conditions are right, the cold air can fall very rapidly, creating a microburst. When the microburst hits the ground, the air has nowhere to go except horizontally along the terrain, causing high, gusty winds.

And that’s a virga bomb!

Help an Inventor

I thought this was pretty cool: A lens cap holder that connects to your camera's strap. It falls under the category of "Why didn't I think of that?"

I don't have a problem of losing lens caps myself, but I understand others do. My standard operating procedure is to put my lens cap in my pocket as soon as I remove it from the lens, which is a dusty and linty place.

With all the corners and crevices that make up the inner surface of a lens cap, a lens cap is a veritable dirt magnet. Invariably this dirt and lint ends up on the lens. Like I said, I don't lose lens caps, but the front element or protective filter gets coated with pocket debris through transference in short order. I need a better solution.

Yes, I know there are little thing-a-ma-jigs that tether the lens cap to the lens barrel, but having a lens cap swinging around on a string isn't a good solution, either. I take photos with the camera at all different angles, and pushing or pulling the cap out of the shot all the time would drive me bonkers. Having the cap in a secure and out-of-the-way place is a big plus for me.

The inventor, Mark Stevenson, is using kickstarter.com to finance his idea. He needs $3900 to get the molds made to start production. Pledge just $15 to his cause and, if he reaches his goal, he will send you one of the production pieces in exchange for your help. You can pledge less, or more (and get several holders in return).

If you like this, help a Mark out with what appears to be a good idea. I have my pledge in! Do you?

Click here to go to the Kickstarter project!

Update, (June 10): Good news! Mark more than doubled his pledge goal, and as of this writing, he has $9904 pledged. Kickstarter says he will be funded on June 21. Hooray!