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SALT LAKE CITY — A reader in North Platte, Nebraska, sent KSL a video of a strange cloud formation she saw while pulling out of her garage on the way to school, calling the long stretching bus-like formation "creepy."
According to KSL meteorologist Devan Masciulli, the formation is a roll cloud "associated with a cold front or thunder storm gust." The strange spectacle is formed when "shear winds" blowing past each other roll a cloud into a log of sushi, or a ghostly passenger train, maybe some kind of tunnel through the fourth dimension. It's probably just a cloud though.
One of the most famous frequently occurring roll cloud formations is called "Morning Glory," taking place in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia, the only place these rare clouds happen with regularity, appearing from early September to mid-November.
The Garrawa Aboriginal people who live near the south coast have credited the cloud formation as increasing the supply of bird life, according to researchers, recognizing that the formation occurs most frequently before the "wet" season.
In 2017, Redbull hang-glider pilot Jonny Durand filmed a flight along the "sky tsunami," following the same principles as surfing — the constant flowing lift pushing the glider along the surface of the "wave."
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