

Hole punch clouds and ice crystalsĪndrew Heymsfield of the National Center for Atmospheric Research spoke with EarthSky some years ago, when his study first appeared. Rick Trent in Paradise, California, caught this hole punch cloud in November 2016. There are zones of locally low pressure along the wing and propeller tips that allow the air to expand and cool well below the original temperature of the cloud layer, forming ice crystals. The study concluded that aircraft propellers and wings cause the formation of those initial ice crystals. Order yours before they’re gone! Patricia Evans spotted this hole-punch cloud in November 2015 from a restaurant parking lot. Studies, including this one by Andrew Heymsfield and collaborators, have shown that aircraft passing through these cloud layers can trigger the formation of the heavier ice crystals, which fall to Earth and then leave the circular void in the blanket of clouds. … composed of small water droplets that are below freezing called ‘supercooled water droplets.’ If ice crystals can form in the layer of supercooled droplets, they will grow rapidly and shrink or possibly evaporate the droplets completely.

How are they created?Īccording to, an altocumulus cloud layer is: They look like abrupt clearings in an altocumulus cloud layer, often circular patches of clear sky punched into the surrounding clouds. But jets can be the cause of a different type of cloud feature, a hole-punch cloud, also known as a fallstreak hole. You’re probably familiar with contrails, the wispy strands of clouds made by jet exhaust high in the sky. Saranya said: “Awesome view.” Yes, it is! Thank you, Saranya! Hole punch clouds
Theres a hole in the world tonight Patch#
Also, notice the rainbow-like patch in the cloud, with the sun off to the right? That colored patch looks to us like a sundog. | Saranya Kumar in Woodbridge, New Jersey, caught this image of a hole punch cloud – aka a fallstreak cloud – on December 15, 2021.
