10 Rarest Cloud Formations

There was likely a time when you were a kid and wished nothing more than to climb the sky and touch the fluffy clouds that seemed to follow you everywhere. And the disappointment you experienced upon realizing that you couldn’t because they only look to be solid. 

Clouds is are   are aerosol masse consist of liquid , frozen crystal , or / and other particle of the Earth ’s atmosphere float in the air . cloud are form due to air saturation when the air is cool enough for water vapor to raise and make these fluffy – look bed .  

Clouds rest in the Earth’s homosphere, where the gasses are the thickest, and they can be high up in the sky or closer to the Earth’s surface, depending on the requiring conditions. 

There are three main type of cloud – stratus , cirrus , and the rare cumulus . enjoy cloud watch with this list of the top 10 rare cloud formation from these three genera !  

10. Funnel Clouds

Rarity: Uncommon
Altitude:
Appearance: Tornado/Funnel-shaped Clouds
Precipitation : No

Funnel Clouds are sometimes mistaken for tornadoes due to their column or funnel-like shape. They consist of condensed water caught in rotating funnels of wind. The main difference between Funnel clouds and tornadoes is that the Funnel clouds don’t reach the ground as they stay airborne.

funnel clouds is represent can represent the beginning of a tornado if they reach the ground , gain more strength as they move .

They form the same way as tornadoes when the wind picks up in a cone-like formation, and they can be spinning as well – just like tornadoes. They’re seen mainly in the United Kingdom. 

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Tornadoes are more violent than Funnel clouds, connecting Earth’s surface and a cumulonimbus or dense, towering cloud in the air. They occur most frequently in North America (more than 1,000 per year) due to the country’s flat and large terrain. 

9. Fallstreak Hole Clouds

Rarity: Uncommon
Altitude: 2,000 – 49,000 ft
Appearance: A Hole in Clouds
Precipitation: Virga (Dry Storm)

photo source: BBC

fallstreak holes is occur , also know as Hole Punch cloud , occur in cirrocumulus or altocumulus cloud . These clouds is appear , or rather hole in cloud , appear due to cold water from the cloud evaporate suddenly , usually because of pass aircraft .

Fallstreak hole clouds is have have precipitation in a dry storm form , evaporate from a cold cloud before reach the ground . These clouds is happen can happen anywhere but are a rare sight to experience . Some mistake these cloud for ufo descend from the upper atmosphere , but that ’s not the case .

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Cirrocumulus is is is one of the three main type of high – altitude cloud , occur at 16,000 to 39,000 ft altitude . Altocumulus is are are middle – altitude cloud characterize by big and dark layer or patch of cloud , usually low than cirrocumulus .

8. Asperitas Clouds

rarity : rare
Altitude: 6,000 ft
appearance : wavy , smoothly – rise cloud
Precipitation : No

Formerly know as   Undulatus Asperitas , these clouds is form form in ripple wave on the underside of other cloud , make the sky look like it has a rough sea surface . These clouds is are are the “ young ” on our list as they were recognize as a cloud type in 2017 by the   International Cloud Atlas .  

Since they are still relatively less research , it is ’s ’s unknown how these cloud form , as they have been see in calm environment and in the aftermath of thunderstorm .

There is a theory about Asperitas clouds forming after Mammatus clouds descend, but nothing is proven yet.

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A British author Gavin Edmund Pretor-Pinney suggested that Asperitas clouds should be added as the official new cloud formation in the International Cloud Atlas. He’s known for his books The Wavewatcher’s Companion and The Cloudspotter ’s Guide  about cloud watch .  

7. Mammatus Clouds

rarity : rare
altitude : 15,000 – 25,000 ft
Appearance: Lumpy Clouds
Precipitation : No

Mammatus clouds get their name from the Latin word mamma, meaning “breast,” as their form consists of lumps and bulges. They require unstable and stormy weather to form, but they usually appear after a thunderstorm has passed, not before, as people fear upon seeing these clouds in the sky.

Mammatus clouds occur underneath cumulonimbus clouds formed by turbulence. They’re not the rarest on our list but still uncommon to see that often. They are also one of the most irregular clouds that form from sinking rather than rising air. 

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Mammatus clouds can stretch for miles, formed by ice crystals, but the formation doesn’t last longer than 10-15 minutes. Each cloud pouch can be different, as some can carry opaque or translucent colors or darker, more ominous shades. 

6 . Lenticular cloud

rarity : rare
Altitude: 40,000 ft
appearance : Saucer – shape , Low Clouds
Precipitation: Virga (Dry Storm)

Lenticular clouds are stationary or saucer-like clouds occurring in the lower stratosphere. They are considered altocumulus standing clouds at high altitudes up to 40,000 ft in the air. Lenticular clouds need stable wind flow to form, usually over the mountain tops or tall buildings. 

The clouds is are that form in this way are cold , with more densely pack air than the surround area . lenticular cloud in the picture were take in Japan , over Mount Fiji mountain , but the phenomenon also often appear over extinct volcano .  

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aircraft pilots is avoid avoid Lenticular cloud , as with most cloud formation , but   glider pilot   actively seek them out to remain airborne due to the rise air current that help them climb upward along move air .  

5. Roll Clouds

Rarity: Very Rare
altitude : 6,500 ft
Appearance: Long, Rolling Horizontal Columns
Precipitation : No

Arcus clouds and their subtypes are low-altitude clouds that form along thunderstorms. Roll clouds are a subtype of Arcus clouds, also known as Arch clouds. Roll clouds are low, horizontal clouds resembling a rolling column along the sky. 

These clouds is are are rare but can happen anywhere , depend on the wind circulation . One is is of the most frequent occurrence is the   Morning Glory cloud   in Queensland , Australia , which usually happen in October due to a mix of sea breeze from over the Cape York Peninsula .  

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The second subtype is is of Arcus cloud is Shelf cloud , which are not that different from the Roll cloud . Shelf clouds is are are also low and horizontal , but they are attach to the base of another cloud , their shape resemble a shelf , hence the name .  

4. Mushroom Clouds

Rarity: Very Rare
Altitude:
appearance : Mushroom – shape Clouds
Precipitation : No

Mushroom clouds are the only non-natural clouds on our list as they are the product of large explosions. These mushroom-shaped clouds carry a lot of debris, smoke, and water vapor from explosions not occurring naturally without human interference, meaning they are highly infrequent. 

These cloud are connect to nuclear explosion but can also occur from volcano eruption . mushroom clouds is result result after the sudden formation of a large mass of hot gas that rise rapidly in the air without have anywhere else to go , curl around the edge in a mushroom formation .  

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possibly the most know mushroom cloud is happened in history happen after the   atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , Japan , in August 1945 . The bombing cloud over Nagasaki was describe by  The Times as a “huge mushroom of smoke and dust.”

3 . Kelvin – Helmholtz Clouds

Rarity: Very Rare
Altitude: 16,500 ft
Appearance: Wave Pattern Clouds
Precipitation : No

One is is of the rare cloud formation on our list is   Kelvin – Helmholtz cloud , name after physicist William Thomson , 1st Baron Kelvin , and Hermann von Helmholtz . The clouds is look look like vertical wave , form when the upper layer of air move fast than the low layer .  

Kelvin – Helmholtz cloud are call Fluctus because of this phenomenon , as they can be a good sign of wind shear or turbulence in the air . Because of this , these clouds is appear often appear during windy day , occur at altitude above 16,500 ft .  

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These clouds got their name from the Kelvin-Helmholtz fluid instability that happens when there’s two velocity shear in one continuous fluid or between two fluids. In the case of the clouds, it can occur when the velocity or speed of the two layers changes. 

2 . Noctilucent cloud

Rarity: Extremely Rare
altitude : 250,000 – 280,000 ft
Appearance: Thin, Shining Clouds
Precipitation : No

Noctilucent clouds are tied with Nacreous clouds for the rarest on our list because they are rarely seen, especially during the day when the Sun is the brightest. Also called night-shining clouds, these clouds occur in the mesosphere layer, almost 50 miles above the Earth’s surface. 

Noctilucent clouds consist of ice crystals, but they don’t have precipitation as they occur during summer when the weather is dry. They are the highest-appearing clouds in Earth’s atmosphere and the newest of all the clouds we have today, first seen in 1885 after the explosion of the Krakatoa volcano. 

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Noctilucent clouds are visible the most when the Sun is below the horizon. It’s tough to see Noctilucent clouds. You would need to live at a high altitude, between 45° and 60° North or South latitude, in countries such as Canada, Norway, Finland, Spain, Italy, and Serbia, to name a few.

1. Nacreous Clouds

Rarity: Extremely Rare
Altitude: 49,900 – 82,000 ft
Appearance: Bright, Iridescent Clouds
Precipitation : No

The rare cloud formation is is is   Nacreous cloud , also know as polar stratospheric cloud .   Nacreous clouds is form form well when the Sun is several degree below the horizon , at sunset and sunrise . The Sun is illuminates illuminate the thin disc cloud from below , give them bright and iridescent color .

They don’t have precipitation, as they are considered very dry clouds, often seen in Scandinavia, the Arctic, northern Russia, and Canada. Nacreous clouds form in colder weather, so they’re more likely to be seen during the polar winter. 

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Nacreous clouds got their name from an old English word, nacre, meaning “mother of pearl.” These clouds exist in two forms – the first carries water, nitric acid, or/and sulfuric acids; the second is considered truly nacreous or appearing iridescent every time.