PHOTOS: What were those eerie clouds that covered B.C. South Coast skies?
Skies in parts of B.C. were darkened on Friday by striking cloud formations known as asperitas, with social media getting lit up with posts about their odd-looking appearances
On Friday, the skies over parts of B.C.'s South Coast became dark and eerie with strange-looking clouds, but they didn't cause any weather issues.
So, what were they? Asperitas clouds, which weren’t even officially recognized by the World Meteorological Association until 2015, made themselves quite visible to folks in B.C. communities such as Port Moody and Vancouver.
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Asperitas clouds are so uncommon that the jury is still out on how exactly these fascinating clouds form, however. They can form anywhere in Canada and often, but not always, follow after a thunderstorm. It falls in line with the hypothesis that asperita clouds form due to the instability and convection in the atmosphere associated with thunderstorms.
What were the forecast conditions in B.C. at the time that led to their formations?
There was some wind shear present in the atmosphere, winds changing direction with height, and moist layers that support the cloud formation. The passage of a frontal boundary acted like a lifting mechanism, thus creating the clouds.
Below is just a selection of the visuals of the asperita clouds that made the rounds quickly on social media.
With files from Anika Beaudry, a digital journalist at The Weather Network, and Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
Thumbnail is courtesy of Pexels/Andrew Beatson/2114196-3742711. It is not a photo taken in from the Nov. 8, 2024 sightings of asperitas clouds in B.C.
