Is the mysterious 'milky rain' falling over Pacific Northwest made from ash spewed by Japan's Sakurajima volcano?

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Residents in Washington, Idaho and Oregon are seeing 'milky' rain
Experts speculate ash from Sakurajima, Japan, could have blown over
Sakurajima is particularly active right now, more than 3 eruptions a day

Published: 09:18 EST, 7 February 2015 | Updated: 15:58 EST, 7 February 2015

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A mysterious 'milky' rain has been falling over the Pacific Northwest that is baffling meteorologists.

Residents of Washington, Oregon and Idaho have been filling up glasses of the unusual substance trying to determine what it could be.

One strong possibility is that the weather system has been infected by eruptions from Japan's Sakurajima volcano.

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Milky: Residents of Washington, Oregon and Idaho have been filling up glasses of the unusual substance

The weather system could have been infected by eruptions from Japan's Sakurajima volcano, experts say

The volcano has been particularly active over the past month.

Last week it sent an ash plume of three miles billowing into the sky.

It is the most active Sakurajima has been all year, with up to three or four explosions a day, according to Volcano Discovery.

Following a particularly violent eruption on Thursday, some speculated that Russia's Shiveluch volcano could have sent ash into the sky that was blown across the Pacific Ocean, as well.

In the past two weeks, eight eruptions have been recorded.

The Walla Walla County office in Washington corroborated those suggestions in a Facebook post.

Dirty rain: The rain has left window like this one murky and seemingly covered with filth

The National Weather Service in Spokane, Washington, is now investigating different volcano sources

The volcano has been particularly active this month. Last week it sent a 5km ash plume billowing into the sky

Above the clouds, ash bellows from the volcano erupting in Japan

'We have received reports of "white stuff" on vehicles,' officials wrote.

'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.'

But the National Weather Service of Spokane, Washington, is still investigating.

'The truth is that we really don't know where it came from!' the NWS Spokane said on Facebook.

'We are continuing to investigate and have reached out to other offices for assistance in recreating atmospheric flows from the past several days. We've also reached out to other agencies that may have collected samples appropriate for testing.'