Dry Lake Might Be Source Of Milky Rain In Southwestern N.M.

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) – Preliminary research indicates that dust from a dry lake in southeastern Arizona caused milky white rainfall over Grant and Catron counties.

The source of the weird rain that fell Jan. 7 is being tracked down by two professors of geology and environmental science at the University of Texas at El Paso, Tim Gill and Joel Gilbert.

Gill says he suspects the answers, at least in part, can be traced to a Willcox, Ariz., playa. The scientists say a high-resolution NASA photograph shows a massive cloud of dust blowing northeast off the playa toward Silver City.

Gill says he thinks dust particles seeded the cloud and precipitated out as rain. Gilbert says rain samples indicate the presence of lots of calcium and sodium, which would come from the playa.

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