Strange sight spotted in New Zealand skies: 'Fascinating'
The phenomenon known as a lenticular cloud captured the attention of many who agreed the sight was 'amazing'.
New Zealand residents were blown away after witnessing a "fascinating phenomenon" in the sky over a remote area on the North Island this week.
An unusual cloud formation formed in the Waikato region on Wednesday and had observers in awe.
A nature enthusiast snapped a photo of the "spooky and beautiful" sight before sharing it on Facebook. They said the "stunning" cloud was like "magic" in the sky, and others overwhelmingly agreed.
"Wow! I’ve never seen that before, thanks for sharing," one person posted. "Great shot," another said.
Many agreed the "awesome" cloud was "beautiful". A fourth said it was a "magnificent sight to behold".
Another resident said they saw it too and were equally amazed. "At one stage there was two of them, one on top of the other," they said.
Some implied it was too good to be true and suggested the cloud was fake. But Yahoo News Australia can confirm the cloud is very much real and it's actually pretty common.
Cloud phenomenon explained
The phenomenon seen in New Zealand this week is what's known as a lenticular cloud. They're caused by humid air flowing over and around mountains.
"This particular variant is sometimes referred to as ’stacked lenticular clouds" Professor Todd Lane from the University of Melbourne told Yahoo. These form in the crests of 'lee waves' he said — which are waves in the atmosphere that can form on the downstream side of mountains.
For the clouds to form like this, the atmospheric conditions need to be "just right" Professor Lane explained. "It relies on the wind to vary in height in a particular way, but also for there to be sufficient water vapour in the atmosphere," he said.
Are lenticular clouds common?
Michael Reeder, from the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment Monash University said they're fairly common in mountainous regions and are often sighted in New Zealand. They do exist in Australia also, both over the mountain regions and elsewhere.
Interestingly, Mr Reeder said they’re sometimes mistaken for UFOs due to their cylindrical shape
Posting in the comments, one person said, "no wonder people think they’ve seen UFO’s". "I saw this cloud yesterday, it was so cool, it was like a form of a ufo," another wrote.
Previously, a dark mass appeared in the sky in Sydney in Feburary which was later identified as a scud cloud. And residents in NSW's Northern Rivers were lucky enough to catch sight of an "extremely rare phenomenon" later identified as a Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud.
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