Strange ‘smoke ring’ clouds were spotted across Scotland on Saturday night.
People across the country spotted the strange clouds, which are lenticular clouds – lens-shaped clouds that form when winds blow across hills.
Mags Forbes, who took pictures of the clouds from her bedroom window in Chapelhall, Airdrie, said she thought “something strange” was going on.
She said: “I honestly thought when I looked out the window it looked like huge smoke rings. I thought something strange was going on.
“The moon was lighting them up, I then realised they were clouds and not like any clouds I had ever seen before, especially at night.”
Supplied
Supplied
Supplied
SuppliedSTV meteorologist Sean Batty explained the rare phenomena, which form when the air is stable, and winds blow across hills and mountains from a similar direction at different heights through the troposphere.
He said: “Lots of you spotted these amazing clouds on Saturday night – altocumulus lenticularis.
“They form when air passes over hills and starts to ‘bounce’.
“Often seen Aberdeenshire in westerlies, and in central belt in northerlies.
“Last night’s probably formed from air crossing Southern Uplands and Highlands.”
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