Mysterious White Ash Rain Covers Washington and Oregon, Scientists Miffed

Residents of Washington and parts of Oregon witnessed what they called 'milky rain' two days ago. It is however not yet clear what the material is.

According to CNN, vehicles in the area were covered with unknown white stuff which could possibly be ash from a volcano nearly 4,000 miles away in Eastern Russia or another one near 2,000 miles away near Mexico that erupted last week.

"We have received reports of 'white stuff' on vehicles. The ash is more than likely from Volcano Shiveluch in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, which spewed an ash plume to about the 22,000-foot level in late January. It has been deposited in a wide spread area, including Washington and Oregon," said the Walla Walla County Emergency Management's Facebook page.

According to the National Weather Service quoted by Discovery News, the material could be dirt from a storm in Nevada besides the possibility of being volcanic ash. It also did not rule out that the ash could from last year's wildfires in Oregon and Idaho.

The samples were collected and sent for microscopic examination as the chemical composition is expected to reveal the source of the dirt.