Did you happen to notice following the rain and thunderstorms Monday evening your car a little dirtier than before it rained? If you did you weren't alone as many experienced more dust and dirt on their vehicles Monday evening. Why was that?
Sunday and Monday experienced some very gusty winds. And while that warmed our afternoon temperatures into the 70s and 80s, it also suspended quite a bit of dust and dirt from surrounding farm fields into the atmosphere.
In order for raindrops to form the water vapor needs something to 'stick' to, like glue. That's what we call a 'condensation nuclei'. This can be a dust, dirt, or smoke particle suspended in the atmosphere. With a lot of dirt kicked up from the gusty winds the last couple of days those dirt particles were our condensation nuclei for raindrops to form around. Once the rain fell it evaporated on the ground, or your vehicle, leaving behind the dirt and dust debris. Sometimes we can get dust from the Plains, especially when it gets really windy and dry out west. The particles become caught in the jet stream and can travel thousands of miles before coming down in the form of rain in the Midwest and Great Lakes!
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