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'Alien' Cloud Formation Was Hole-Punch Cloud

Photo from Gwen Swinburne

This 'hole-punch cloud' formation appeared over St. Pete Beach on Monday morning.

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2008

The odd cloud formation seen around the Tampa Bay area on Monday morning initially caused some head scratching around here, but it turns out to have been a rare formation but one documented before.

Meteorologists call it a "hole-punch cloud", a nontechnical but accurate name for the formation that looks like a hole was punched in a layer of clouds. St. Pete Beach resident Gwen Swinburne was kind enough to send us a photo, and observant reader Rex Chivers wrote to say he saw two about 8 a.m. Monday, one near Tampa, the other toward Pinellas and likely the one Swinburne photographed.

Apparently, a number of conditions can cause the formation.

On Tuesday, there was a layer of clouds high enough to be mostly ice crystals instead of simply condensed water. The air was highly stable, so the clouds were fairly uniform. A pocket of cold air, which sinks toward the ground, "punched" the hole in the clouds and created the circular opening. That's what the meteorologists at News Channel 8 say.

Sometimes rising air can cause the same effect.

These cloud formations have been observed before but are rare enough to catch the attention of the weather service.

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