© NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTASeveral fallstreak holes, or “hole punch clouds,” were spotted across parts of northern Georgia on Friday.
Fallstreak holes, also known as "hole punch clouds," were spotted across the Atlanta metro area and northern parts of the state on Friday, according to 11Alive.
The rare clouds form when "supercooled water droplets" suddenly freeze within mid- to high-level cumulus clouds, according to the National Weather Service. When these ice crystals fall, a giant hole is left behind.
Residents took to social media to share photos of the rare phenomena.
Airplanes also play a part in fallstreak formations, meteorologists say.
Passing planes create airflow, which can trigger water droplets to fall below freezing yet remain in liquid form, according to NOAA. However, this can only be achieved at high altitudes and with droplets that have little dust, pollution and other impurities.
As the droplets turn to ice crystals, "they quickly grow [and] begin to fall, leaving a hole behind, which will start to expand outward as surrounding droplets start to freeze as well, similar to a domino effect," experts say.
Comment: In recent times this rare cloud phenomena has appeared over UAE, Canada, Southern California, UK, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Other strange cloud anomalies seem to be appearing globally with higher frequency and intensity. Factors which may contribute to these 'strange skies' are atmospheric dust loading from increased comet and volcanic activity and changes in the layers of the atmosphere. See also:
- Spectacular Sun Halo Seen by Skiers in Sweden
- Rainbow appears in Taiwan for 9 continuous hours as experts claim it has broken record
An indicator of this dust loading is the intensification of noctilucent clouds we are observing. As explained in Pierre Lescaudron's book, Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection: See also: Chemtrails? Contrails? Strange skies