Cumulus clouds seen from an airplane.
Meteorology is a fascinating science, which always surprises you. And it is that we live on a planet that is very alive, so much so that sometimes there are rare weather phenomena, but of singular beauty.
Would you like to know what some of them are? Here is a list of the 5 most curious and surprising.
Pyrocumulus clouds
Pretty, right? This cloud, also called a fire cloud, is shaped like a mushroom and forms when the surface air temperature heats up rapidly. As the temperature rises, convective movements are generated that make the air mass rise until it reaches a point of stability. Therefore, they form only when there is a rapid and intense heat stroke, such as volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and even nuclear explosions.
Green Thunder
Also known as a green flash, it is an optical phenomenon that occurs after sunset, or before sunrise. It occurs when light passes through the atmosphere; the low air is denser than that of the upper layers, so the sun's rays follow a more or less curved path. Green or blue light bends more than red or orange light, so it can be seen with the naked eye.
Noctilucent clouds
These are the highest clouds present in the atmosphere, located in the mesosphere, at an altitude between 75 and 85km. They are also called as polar mesospheric clouds. This phenomenon it appears only when sunlight illuminates them from below the horizon, while the lower layers are "hidden," in shadow.
Belt of Venus
Have you ever seen a pink cape in the sky when you got up in the morning? This layer is called the Belt of Venus, which extends between 10 and 20 degrees above the horizon. The pink color of the arc is due to the light being reflected in the direction of where it comes from, that is, the sun.
Fire tornado
Fire eddies or fire tornadoes are a phenomenon that only occurs naturally from wildfires. They can be 10 to 50 meters high, and a few meters wide; although if the appropriate conditions are given they can measure more than 1km in height, and contain winds that blow more than 160km/h. In this article you can see the birth of one.
What did you think of these rare weather phenomena? Do you know others?