The vast expanse of the sky remains a source of wonder and fascination for many. Whenever you gaze up towards the clouds, it’s hard not to be intrigued by the mysterious shapes they form. Perhaps you’ve even noticed some unusual formations like the tubular clouds.
In April 2010, residents of Burketown in Queensland, Australia were treated to a stunning display of clouds that resembled majestic white “pipes” in the sky. These clouds, known as “dawn and sunset light,” typically appear during the early morning or dusk hours. The impressive “pipes” seen in Burketown could stretch up to 966km and move at speeds of around 56 km/h, similar to that of a car. It was truly a breathtaking sight to behold!
Noctilucent clouds, also known as “night-shining” clouds, are classified into four types: visor, filament, wave, and whirlpool. These clouds exhibit a bright blue or silvery white color and usually appear during dusk when the sun and horizon form an angle of 6 to 16 degrees. According to most scientists, these clouds require low temperatures, water vapor, and dust to form. The water vapor condenses into microscopic ice crystals at an altitude of about 80km, which scatter the sun’s rays and cause the clouds to glow. However, there are other perspectives on their formation, and the exact explanation remains a mystery. They are sometimes referred to as “stalactite clouds.”
After the storm on June 26, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada saw peculiar cloud formations that looked like floating “nests.” Similarly, on April 25, 2013, Yanji city, Jilin province, China witnessed stalactite clouds. These unique cloud formations come in various shapes and patterns such as water ripples and spherical patches. They can stand alone for a duration of 10-15 minutes and can last for several hours when clustered together. Another type of unusual cloud formation is cone clouds.
This particular type of cloud is often seen on mountain tops, resembling a mountain wearing a hat. In regions with volcanic activity, one can observe cone-shaped clouds alongside natural volcanic eruptions. Additionally, human-made atomic bombs can also produce cone clouds, as seen when the “Little Boy” nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, creating a towering mushroom-shaped cloud with a cone-shaped top.
In China’s Yunnan province, specifically atop Cang Son-Er Hai, a dark gray cloud known as “vuong phu cloud” appears every winter to spring. Its arrival heralds a violent storm that causes waves to crash against the shore relentlessly until a large rock is dislodged from the bottom of Erhai Lake, and then the wind abruptly vanishes. This phenomenon, dubbed “clouds of hope,” is the result of the monsoon winds interacting with the area’s unique topography. The “Ha Quan” wind, which produces the “clouds of hope,” is forced upward by the sharp increase in terrain, ultimately condensing into vapor clouds atop Thuong Son.
