What is Dirty Rain and Why Are We Suddenly Getting So Much of It?

If you haven't been the victim of dirty rain, there is a good chance you will be in the near future.

What Is Dirty Rain?

Dirty rain is pretty much what it sounds like – dirt that has rained down on your clean car or on your houses windows that now seem cloudy when trying to look outside.

The filth is most often present after what appears to be a a typical rainstorm. It may look like water coming from the sky, but there's actually a lot more to that rainfall.

According to Newsweek, dirty rain is what happens when a major dust storm blows debris into the air. The heavy winds carry the particles into the atmosphere where they then mix with precipitation.

Now, you have a mix of dirt and water ready make everyone you own outdoors a nice shade of light brown.

Why You're Seeing More Dirty Rain

The sometimes confusing aspect of dirty rain is the proximity of the initial dust storm to where the dirt ends up falling from the sky.

Most recently, dirty rain was reported in Missouri, Illinois Kentucky and both Virginia and West Virginia. Meteorologist Jim Castillo with St. Louis-based KSDK confirmed the dirt was generated by a dust storm from days earlier in Texas and New Mexico that blew all the way into the midwest.

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"We didn't have the dust storm, we just got to see the 'dust rain,'" Castillo said on the station's website.

Residents of just about all states should expect to see increased amounts of dirty rain in the coming years.

Many of the dust storms are the result of drought conditions. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, droughts are becoming more frequent due to increased heat.

In the west, NOAA says heat is especially starting to become more of a driver of droughts compared to a lack of rain.

Maybe toss a spare towel in your car to wipe off your windows this spring.