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Unusual Cloud Formation Seen Over Tampa Bay Area

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  • Unusual Cloud Formation Seen Over Tampa Bay Area

    TAMPA BAY, FL -- Many Bay area residents found themselves gazing upward at a very strange-looking cloud formation Monday morning. Several people who were wondering what it was snapped some photos and emailed them to ABCActionNews.com.

    According to a member of the ABC Action News Weather department, what they saw over the Clearwater area was something called a 'hole punch cloud.'

    What is it? And what causes the phenomenon?

    The National Weather Service in Pensacola put it this way after a hole punch cloud was sighted over the state's panhandle region back in 2003:


    Has it happened before? - Yes. A quick internet search quickly reveals a few strikingly similar past photos that were taken in south Florida, the Carolinas and even Australia and Canada. Therefore one can conclude that the phenomena has happened before, but on a relatively infrequent basis.

    At what atmospheric level did this occur? - A regional sounding (meteorological instrumentation that shows how temperature and moisture vary with height) taken near Valparaiso, Florida reveals a cloud layer between approximately 25,000 and 27,000 feet. The cloud layer was likely a few thousand feet lower according to a sounding taken further west over Slidell Louisiana near the time of sunset (not shown). Meteorologists refer to clouds at this level as 'cirro-form' clouds. Generically, these are termed 'high clouds.' However, the white puffy-like texture in the cloud deck that surrounds the "hole" possesses traits of both cirroform and cumulo-form clouds (which form at much lower altitudes). Cirroform clouds with a cumulus-like appearance are termed 'cirrocumulus' clouds.

    What was the weather pattern that day? - Although a large scale high pressure system was building in at the surface with northerly winds in progress, the "hole punch clouds" occurred at a much higher level in the atmosphere. Just above the cloud layer and at about 32,000 feet above ground level, the high level winds were blowing was from west to east over much of the US Deep South. The clouds were aligned along this rapidly flowing stream of air, known as the jet stream.

    How does the hole occur in the clouds? - The puffy clouds were likely composed of ice crystals and very small super-cooled liquid water droplets. Studies have shown that very small supercooled liquid water droplets can exist well below freezing (as low as -40 degrees (C, or Centrigrade) ). The temperature in the cloud layer was around -24 deg (C) at the time of occurrence. Sometimes...when ice and the supercooled liquid droplets coexist within a cloud...a process occurs whereby ice crystals grow at the expense of the droplets. If the mixed cloud is agitated...the supercooled droplets freeze instantaneously. It is understood through microphysical arguments that water vapor must evaporate from the surrounding supercooled droplets and flow towards the ice crystals. This would start a cycle whereby newly formed ice crystals cause the surrounding droplet to evaporate...resulting in a circular form void of clouds with a mass of crystals in the center. Many photos taken that day seem to represent this process.

    What caused the disturbance to begin? One possible explanation is a jet plane. Visible satellite imagery that day suggested several "hole punch" clouds over both southern Mississippi and Alabama. These coincided with jet contrails. Click here and you will see a photo of "hole punch" clouds taken in Australia with an airplane contrail nearby. An airplane passing through the mixed cloud layer while ascending or descending would likely disrupt the delicate coexistence between the ice crystals and the supercooled liquid water droplets. A second possible explanation is that small scale atmospheric vertical motions (both up and down) related to the jet stream brought ice crystals downward into the moist cloud layer, thus effectively 'setting off' the cyclic process described above.

    One thing is for sure... Without an ability to directly measure these small scale vertical motions and the quantities of temperature and moisture directly within and adjacent to the actual clouds, we can only speculate on what caused this common but relatively infrequent awesome phenomena to occur !...

    Acknowledgements - This page was contributed to by several members of the National Weather Service Staff in Mobile including: John Purdy (Forecaster in Charge), Gene Jacobi (Hyrdometeorological Technician), Don Shepherd (Journeyman Forecaster), Andy Stasiowski (Hyrdometeorological Technician), Jason Beaman (Intern Meteorologist), Gary Beeler (Warning Coordination Meteorologist) and Jeffrey Medlin (Science and Operations Officer).

    I took a picture of this on my cell phone! I had never seen a cloud formation like this before. Pretty wicked!!
    Attached Files
    “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
    "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
    sigpic

  • #2
    Nice... was there any looting from people who thought it was the end of the world?
    Nulli Secundus
    People always talk of dying for their country, and never of making the other bastard die for his

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    • #3
      I just kept looking up to make sure there were no UFO's coming out of the hole. Or any alien arms reaching down for us...to suck our blood...thought it was another "War of the Worlds" happening!
      “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
      "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
      sigpic

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Southie View Post
        I just kept looking up to make sure there were no UFO's coming out of the hole. Or any alien arms reaching down for us...to suck our blood...thought it was another "War of the Worlds" happening!

        Did anyone try and shoot into the hole to see if any UFO's would come out?.... so they could try and shoot them
        Nulli Secundus
        People always talk of dying for their country, and never of making the other bastard die for his

        Comment


        • #5
          Nooooo....too afraid!!! Just kept drinking my coffee...saying..."please don't get me...please don't get me!"
          “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
          "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
          sigpic

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Southie View Post
            Nooooo....too afraid!!! Just kept drinking my coffee...saying..."please don't get me...please don't get me!"
            Nulli Secundus
            People always talk of dying for their country, and never of making the other bastard die for his

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Shiny Capstar View Post
              Did anyone try and shoot into the hole to see if any UFO's would come out?.... so they could try and shoot them
              Gunnut does not live in Florida :))
              When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? - George Canning sigpic

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Knaur Amarsh View Post
                Gunnut does not live in Florida :))
                He might have flown over specially to try
                Nulli Secundus
                People always talk of dying for their country, and never of making the other bastard die for his

                Comment


                • #9
                  Ah - Tarek is Descending to his minions in your high school...
                  If i only was so smart yesterday as my wife is today

                  Minding your own biz is great virtue, but situation awareness saves lives - Dok

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                  • #10
                    I didn't do it. I wasn't there. You can't prove a thing.
                    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Southie View Post
                      I just kept looking up to make sure there were no UFO's coming out of the hole. Or any alien arms reaching down for us...to suck our blood...thought it was another "War of the Worlds" happening!
                      Or worse yet, Tom Cruise and an army of Scientologists!

                      Originally posted by Southie View Post
                      Nooooo....too afraid!!! Just kept drinking my coffee...saying..."please don't get me...please don't get me!"
                      Admit it, you were considering offering them their very own Pocket Ashley if they just leave you alone :)):)):))
                      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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                      • #12
                        This is Florida, it's just Swamp gas. I think we should just close this thread now and move along folks. There is nothing of any interest here whatsoever.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Steezy View Post
                          This is Florida, it's just Swamp gas. I think we should just close this thread now and move along folks. There is nothing of any interest here whatsoever.
                          LIES!!! Its all a Government conspiracy!! The aliens are here!!
                          Nulli Secundus
                          People always talk of dying for their country, and never of making the other bastard die for his

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Shiny Capstar View Post
                            LIES!!! Its all a Government conspiracy!! The aliens are here!!

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by tankie View Post
                              They said I was crazy! Why were the targets down range models of little green men they asked! Why is our AA practice against remote control flying saucers they asked!
                              Well now we'll see who is crazy!!!!
                              Nulli Secundus
                              People always talk of dying for their country, and never of making the other bastard die for his

                              Comment

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