Australians have looked at the skies around southeast Queensland with awe after a giant UFO appeared in the sky.
It was, in fact, a storm cell – though images show its uncanny shape that eerily resembles a flying saucer.
‘We received several pics of this really cool UFO looking storm this morning. This is a lenticular storm cloud and its not that common to see,’ Higgins Storm Chasing wrote to their Facebook page on Thursday morning.
The weather page explained the cloud formation was a hailstorm that was moving across the Darling Downs towards Oakey and north of Toowoomba around sunrise with the light from the early morning sun ‘helping ignite the eastern side of the storm, turning it pink and orange’.
Commenters on the post said the phenomenon was a particularly impressive display from nature and said that ‘our sky never fails to be amazing’.
‘You can see the ”Beam me up Scotty” rays,’ one said.
‘Omg! Thankyou for sharing this storm cell is it so stunning,’ said a second.
‘Who needs drones and aliens when you can have this in the sky,’ added a third.
A hailstorm in southeast Queensland at sunrise on Thursday formed this spectacular cloud formation that some mistook for a ‘UFO’
It is actually a lenticular cloud which can often for smooth circular shapes
The spectacular display follows a similar ‘spaceship’ cloud appearing in Sydney.
The bizarre natural phenomenon formed over the ocean in Cronulla, in Sydney’s southern suburbs, with many sharing snaps and videos of the cloud to social media.
But Weatherzone meteorologist Felix Levesque assured Daily Mail Australia the strange cloud was nothing to be worried about.
Some guessed the ‘spaceship’ was a lenticular cloud, which the forecaster said is formed when moist winds are forced over a barrier, such as a mountain.
‘This rising motion over the barrier causes the air to cool and condense into a stationary cloud,’ Mr Levesque explained.
‘This stationary cloud will have a smooth oval appearance, hence why it’s often mistaken as a UFO.’
Mr Levesque said the Cronulla cloud was in fact a roll cloud, a different species to the lenticular cloud which is caused by a similar process.
‘Roll clouds form when a cooler, denser airmass pushes under another airmass, causing this rising and ‘rolling’ motion on the leading edge of the airmass – hence the name,’ he continued.
Some said they could see the ‘beam me up Scotty’ rays, referring to Star Trek
Residents of Cronulla in Sydney’s south were shocked by the unusual appearance of a cloud formation that resembled a spaceship in December
‘Southerly busters, like on Tuesday, can bring roll clouds, and these can occur about three to five times a year in Sydney.’
‘A common location for roll clouds is over the Gulf of Carpentaria – so common it’s been given the name ‘Morning Glory Cloud”, Mr Levesque said.
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