Virgae often show distinct bends like the ones clearly visible in the photographs. These bends often occur where the falling ice particles melt into water droplets. The ice crystals fall almost vertically. But as the water droplets start to evaporate, they become smaller and so fall more slowly, leaving them trailing behind the cloud above.

In other cases, the bend may indicate a region of wind shear, where the strength or direction of the wind changes. On very rare occasions, where the wind is stronger at a lower level, virgae have even been observed in front of the head that generated them.