36 extraordinary weather events that will blow your mind

Whatever the weather

Weather has long been a favourite topic of conversation, from unseasonably hot, sunny days to skin-soaking drizzle that seems to last for weeks. But some weather really is worth talking about. These are the moonbows that shimmer in the night sky, the haloes, spots and dots deflected from the sun's rays, and the clouds that look like spaceships.

Read on to discover some of the most amazing weather phenomena, from moonbows to frost flowers...

Sun halo, Mount Agung, Bali, Indonesia

Suspended high in the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, sun halos appear when ice crystals reflect sunlight, creating an illusion of a ring around the sun. They can be seen anywhere in the world and, according to folklore, present a warning of a coming rain or snowstorm.

Dust devils, Great Rift Valley, Kenya

These devilish spinners, which look like mini tornadoes, form during windstorms in patches when the ground is intensely hot, pushing the air upwards in a vortex. They whip up dust – and any debris in their path – into whirling, swirling towers. They’re most common in arid desert areas, though are best viewed from a safe distance. However, they are a little less frightening than bugnados, where the ‘devils’ in question are actually buzzing, biting midges.

Noctilucent clouds, Finland

Squeezed between Earth and space about 37 miles (60km) above ground, these electric-blue clouds are a result of ice crystals reflecting sunlight after sunset. Noctilucent clouds – sometimes called 'night shining clouds' – only appear at latitudes between 45° and 80° north and south of the equator during local summer months. The rare spectacle occurs in places like Estonia, Finland and Sweden between May and August.

Belt of Venus, Dreisesselberg, Bavaria, Germany

This beautiful phenomenon, which usually appears as a pinkish belt above a blue-tinted horizon, is actually the gap between the Earth’s shadow and the sky. The pink glow above the dark band of our planet's shadow is caused by the backscatter of red light from the rising or setting sun. Head to higher ground (or somewhere with unobscured views) in summer for the best chance of seeing it.

White rainbow, Fundatura Ponorului, Romania

Similar to a rainbow, a white rainbow (or fog bow) appears in fog rather than rain. Because of the tiny size of the droplets, it has very weak colours and therefore appears white. Spot one in Romania's mountains, at the base of Yosemite Falls in spring in California, as the snow melts, or in the cloud forests of Costa Rica from late December to early February.

Red moon, various locations

Also known as a blood moon, this blazing display happens during a total lunar eclipse. Although surrounded by many superstitions and prophecies, the red hue is actually due to the red edge of the Earth's shadow, which is reflected on the moon. It can be seen around the world, though the best places to view it include Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands and the west of the USA.

 

Volcanic lightning, Calbuco volcano, Puerto Varas, Chile

Also known as a dirty thunderstorm or thunder volcano, this terrifying-looking phenomenon is lightning produced inside a cloud of volcanic ash. It has been observed during most volcanic eruptions, including that of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull and Mount Etna in Sicily.

Fire whirls, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia, USA

Although this terrifying tower of flames only lasts a few minutes, it can bring a lot of destruction with it. Caused by forest and bush fires or extreme droughts, these fire tornadoes occur when fire is whipped up by strong, dry air. California, New Zealand and Australia are especially prone to fire whirls during wildfires.

Pyrocumulus clouds, Los Angeles, California, USA

Associated with wildfire or volcanic eruptions, these dense cloud formations usually appear above the source of the heat. Sometimes they produce dry lightning (lightning without rain) and can even extinguish the fire that formed it. Terrifyingly, they often appear as a mushroom-shaped cloud, similar to that left behind by a nuclear bomb. The most spectacular of these clouds have been seen during wildfires in California and Yellowstone National Park.

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Katabatic wind, Cantabrian Mountains, Spain

A generic term used for downslope winds, katabatic wind originates at high elevations of mountains, plateaus and hills, then flows down their slopes to the valleys or plains below due to changing pressure. Katabatic winds commonly occur in icy regions like Antarctica, Greenland and the fjords in Norway.

Green flash, Hawaii, USA

Film fans might recognise this phenomenon from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The optical illusion occurs before sunset or after sunrise and appears as a green spot above the sun, and it's gone in – well, a flash. Caused by light refracting in the atmosphere, it can be seen anywhere in the world but you’ll need a clear view of a distant horizon on a clear day.

Catatumbo lightning, Catatumbo River, Venezuela

Unique to Venezuela, this type of lightning can only be observed over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo. It occurs approximately 260 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour. However, in 2010 it ceased from January to March due to a drought, leaving many in fear that the famous lightning might be extinguished permanently.

Ice caves, Apostle Islands National Shoreline, Wisconsin, USA

It takes a lot of weather and even more luck to create the ideal conditions for these dramatic giant icicles to form in the caves on Lake Superior’s shoreline. It needs to be blood-curdlingly cold, for a start, both for the icicles to form and for the lake’s ice to be thick enough to walk on safely – the caves are only accessible on foot.

Midnight sun, Svalbard, Norway

Sunsets are super and sunrises (when you drag yourself up to see them) can be silencing, but the midnight sun is the most spectacular of both – all day long. It happens during summer when the Earth’s axis is tilted more towards the sun. It can be witnessed south of the Antarctic Circle and north of the Arctic Circle, such as the northern parts of Norway. The sky over the islands of Svalbard remains bright and blazing from late April until late August.

Penitentes, San Francisco Mountain Pass, Chile

These snow formations, resembling thin blades, are found only at high altitudes. Formed of hardened snow and ice during a complicated climatic process, penitentes can most commonly be spotted in the high altitudes of South America, like the Atacama Desert, Central Andes and Chajnantor plain in Chile.

Moonbow, Cumberland Falls, Kentucky, USA

Also known as lunar rainbows, moonbows are the work of moonlight rather than sunlight. They're far rarer, fainter and smaller than their daytime equivalents. The perfect conditions to see a moonbow are during a full moon, around two to three hours after sunset, or before sunrise – and you're more likely to see one near a waterfall.

Morning Glory clouds, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

This weather occurrence resembles a row of giant, flour-dusted rolling pins. Each cloud can be more than 300 feet (91m) wide and stretch just over 400 miles (644km), from one side of the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia to the other. It is the only known location in the world where these clouds can be predicted and observed on a more-or-less regular basis.

Virga, Mono Lake, California, USA

As rain or drizzle falls from a cloud and hits a streak of warm wind below it, it evaporates before hitting the ground and leaves visible streaks in the sky known as virga clouds. See it in western parts of the US and the Canadian Prairies, and in many parts of the Middle East, Australia and North Africa. 

Supercell, Great Plains, South Dakota, USA

The mother of all storms, supercells are terrifying to encounter and highly dangerous. These massive thunderstorms contain a strong, persistent updraft called a mesocyclone, and although they can occur anywhere in the world, the Great Plains area in the USA – known as Tornado Alley – is particularly prone to supercells.

 

Cappuccino coast, Portstewart, Northern Ireland

This natural phenomenon occasionally transforms the open sea and ocean shorelines into foam that resembles your frothy morning coffee. The foam consists of water impurities – mainly salts, chemicals, decomposed fish and dead plants – and is formed when powerful currents mix them up. It’s most likely to happen along rocky coastlines next to stormy seas or oceans, like the coast of San Francisco or the North Sea.

Snow doughnuts, Charlton, England, UK

Ice doughnuts are a rare meteorological spectacle that occur during very specific weather conditions. First there needs to be a relatively thin surface layer of wet snow on the ground under which there is another layer the wet snow won’t stick to, such as ice or powder snow. Then there needs to be wind that’s strong enough to move the doughnut, but not so strong that it will blow it apart. Finally, enough gravity is needed to move the doughnuts down a hill. They can be mostly in the open prairies of North America and remote regions of Northern Europe, although the ones pictured turned up in the UK.

Frost flowers, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Found on young sea ice or thin lake ice in cold, calm conditions, these icy flowers form when the underlying water temperature is warmer than the air. Most commonly found in polar regions, some scientists have described Arctic frost flowers as ‘sea meadows’. The lakes in Hokkaido, Japan are famous for the spectacle.

Fall streak hole, Piberbach, Austria

Commonly referred to as 'hole punch' clouds, these formations occur when the water droplet part of the cloud freezes into ice crystals. While it’s known that heavier ice crystals fall below the cloud level, creating a hole, it’s still unclear why the freezing starts only in one particular area of a cloud. The phenomenon is harmless and can appear in the sky anywhere in the world.

Giant hailstones, Vivian, South Dakota, USA

Normal hailstones can seem apocalyptic and be pretty painful too. So imagine getting caught in a storm where some unseen god appears to be battering you with spheres of ice the size of golf balls? It can happen anywhere with the right (invariably cold) weather conditions, though the largest known hailstone – eight inches (20cm) in diameter and weighing close to two pounds (907g) – landed close to Vivian in the US state of South Dakota in 2010.

Aurora borealis, Lapland, Finland

The aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, are perhaps the best-known (and most chased) of all the world’s weather phenomena. The sparkling swirls of aubergine, chartreuse and lilac happen when atoms are energised as they collide with the atmosphere. They’re best viewed in northernmost places on clear, inky dark winter nights. Finnish Lapland is among the best places to see the show, between late August and April.

Aurora australis, Lake Wakatipu, Kinloch, New Zealand

This is the lesser-known but equally awe-inspiring cousin of the aurora borealis. The aurora australis, or Southern Lights, are caused by the same mixture of different gas molecules which, as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, collide with solar winds, creating vivid shafts of curtains of light. As the name suggests, the spectacle is best observed in the world’s southernmost places, such as New Zealand, the Falkland Islands and Ushuaia in Argentina.

Frostwork, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Often associated with the work of Jack Frost and fairy tales, frostwork appears on windows and other smooth glass surfaces. The intricate flower-like patterns are formed when a glass surface is exposed to very cold air on the outside and moist, warmer air on the inside. You’ll have the best chance of seeing nature’s works of art anywhere in the north during freezing winters with little precipitation, in places such as Scandinavia, Russia and northern Canada.

Sundogs, Prairie Lake, Minnesota, USA

When the sun is near the horizon and wispy cirrus clouds are high in the sky, rays are deflected by minuscule ice crystals. This sometimes forms a halo but, when the shafts of light are vertically aligned, they create sundogs or ‘mock suns’ – spots of light flanking the real sun. They can happen anywhere in the right conditions. Moon dogs are a similar phenomenon, occurring on nights (obviously) when the moon is particularly bright.

Mammatus clouds, Valentine, Nebraska

The appearance of these unusual, distinctive clouds can vary from the classic protruding shape to a more elongated tube hanging off the cloud above. Normally associated with thunderstorms, these peculiar shapes are formed due to turbulence within the storm cloud, creating an uneven cloud base and can appear anywhere in the world.

Sun pillars, Mount Olympus, Washington, USA

Typically seen during sunrise or sunset, the vertical shaft of sunlight extending from the sun is actually light reflected on falling ice crystals that are associated with thin high-level clouds. This phenomenon can be best spotted when the sun is low just before sunset, or just after the break of dawn. Sun pillars can be seen anywhere in the world but you’ll have greater luck spotting one if you’re closer to water.

Lenticular clouds, Boa Vista, Brazil

Regularly mistaken for flying saucers, these lens-shaped clouds – which appear singular or stacked like pancakes – are very different from any other type of cloud because they don’t move. They can appear anywhere but are most commonly found in mountainous regions, and are avoided by pilots due to the heavy turbulence they can cause.

Waterspouts, Issyk-Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan

These intense vortexes – like water tornadoes – occur most frequently in tropical and subtropical areas. Waterspouts are often accompanied by high winds, large hail and intense lightning. Naturally, they’re best viewed close to the water, and the Florida Keys archipelago is known as a top place to see them.

Sea smoke, Baltic Sea, Latvia

Just like steam coming off a hot bath, sea smoke is the rising warmth from the water below colder air. Often seen in the Arctic and Antarctic, sea smoke is usually quite low and ships can easily see over it. However, columns between 65 to 100 feet (19.8 to 30.5m) have been recorded in the past.

Fire rainbow, West Virginia, USA

Scientifically known as a circumhorizontal arc, this phenomenon is extremely rare because it takes the right type of cloud, the sun shining at a certain angle and ice crystals aligned in a certain position for it to form. You’ll have the best chance of seeing this colourful phenomenon in the US, especially Los Angeles, where the sun is shining at the right angle for 670 hours between late March and late September. 

Ice disk, Westbrook, Maine, USA

Resembling the surface of the Moon in this aerial shot, the puzzling ice disk first appeared in a Maine river in 2019. It partially formed again in 2020 and reappeared in complete form in 2022 to the delight of fascinated onlookers. According to science, the ice disk forms because the river's current and vortex under the ice cause the ice sheet to spin, forming a circle. Similar phenomenon has appeared on a river in Estonia in 2019 as well as in New York, USA and Quebec in Canada.

Moonbow and Northern Lights combined, Abisko, Sweden

An incredibly rare natural event was captured in Abisko, Sweden in October 2024 when a moonbow and the Northern Lights appeared together in an extraordinary light display. Such an event is dependent upon very specific weather, atmospheric and astronomical conditions, aligning perfectly – the Solar Maximum. This period of intense solar activity causes more frequent and brighter aurora displays combined with humid conditions and a nearly full moon. Moonlight is generally not conducive to viewing the Northern Lights in their full glory, which adds to the rarity of the event.

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