This morning on the commute to work, the sky stretched out over the desert was a surprising purple color.

"Do you think it'll rain today?" I said to my Dad in the driver's seat. Rain is a scientific curiosity out here in Nevada. Even though I've seen hundreds of showers in other locations, whenever it rains in Las Vegas, fascination ensues.

"No. It'll just be a virga," said Dad.

"What?" I asked.

My dad explained that a virga is a streak of precipitation that falls from the clouds, but evaporates before ever hitting the ground. I haven't been this excited since meteorologists discovered a new type of cloud (the undulatus asperatus).