The residents of the Al Ain city in the United Arab Emirates were in for a surprise on Sunday, as they witnessed a mighty rare sight following the heavy rainfall at the place.
According to Gulf News, people in the Al Ain were amazed to see a mysterious hole up in the sky and you bet, it was a beautiful phenomenon. However, Sharjah-based astronomer and meteorologist Ebrahim Al Jarwan posted a video of the occurrence on Twitter and explained what it actually was.
تم تصوير هذه الظاهرة النادرة والجميلة قبل قليل في #البريمي و #محضة
تُسمى hole punch cloud
أو ظاهرة fallstreak holeفجوة في السحابة تحدث نتيجة تبخر جزيئات الماء supercooled water droplet pic.twitter.com/uiPibHitlx
— طـقـس عُـمـان 🌦 (@WeatherOman) March 17, 2019
Though people came up with explanations of their own and some guessed it to be a UFO, Al Jarwan cleared the air by stating that it was a ‘fallstreak hole’. It is also known as the hole punch cloud and is a large gap, usually circular or elliptical, that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds.
Look at this fallstreak hole seen above Buraimi, Oman. Picture from our friends at the Directorate General of Meteorology. pic.twitter.com/l3iIS7EL75
— Steff Gaulter (@WeatherSteff) March 17, 2019
As Met Office explains, the phenomenon occurs when ice crystals are formed from parts of the cloud layer and are large enough to fall as a ‘fallstreak‘.
Here is the video that has left the Twitteratti, absolutely baffled:
شوهدت هذه الظاهرة النادرة والجميلة صباح اليوم في مدينة العين
تُسمى hole punch cloud
أو ظاهرة fallstreak hole pic.twitter.com/NbOd9zofNk— إبراهيم الجروان (@ibrahimaljarwan) March 17, 2019
And this is exactly why I say, nature never fails to amaze us.