Sebastian Pereira Tymi and Ronny Laukvik were on their way up Heggmotinden outside Bodø, when they sat down to drink coffee and enjoy the view. Suddenly a cloud shaped like a horseshoe appears in the sky. The cloud rotates around itself, and almost rolls across the sky before disappearing after a couple of minutes. Soon after, a new one appears. – That’s when we started filming the cloud, says Tymi. Laukvik and Tymi on a trip up Heggmotinden. Photo: Sebastian Pereira Tymi Completely new for the meteorologist news sends pictures and film of the cloud to the Meteorological Institute in the hope of a quick and simple explanation of the cloud phenomenon. However, the images left even experienced meteorologists scratching their heads. In fact, state meteorologist-in-charge Marek Ratajczak has neither seen nor heard of a horseshoe-shaped cloud before. – I know a lot about rare weather phenomena, especially those that occur in Norway. This was completely new to me, he says to news. The cloud changed a little along the way. Photo: Sebastian Pereira Tymi After a day, the meteorologist makes contact again. Marek Ratajczak says that the pictures led to a longer discussion among the meteorologists. But with several heads they managed to arrive at an answer in the end. – What the comrades in Bodø witnessed is one of the rarest things you can see in the sky. A horseshoe vortex cloud. Or Hesteskosky in Norwegian, says Ratajczak. Several conditions must be in place at the right time In order for a horseshoe cloud to appear in the sky, quite a few conditions must be present at the same time. This makes the phenomenon so rare. Here, the horseshoe cloud is about to disintegrate. Photo: Sebastian Pereira Tymi Both wind, clouds and temperature must be right. You need a cumulus cloud. These are quite ordinary clouds that look a bit like a cotton ball. When the sun has warmed the ground during the day, you get rising air. This air must be very local, so that it can shape the cloud. – When the cloud comes over the rising air, the center of the cloud will rise, while the sides hang back, says Ratajczak. In addition, you need a windbreak on top, almost like a lid. The wind shear together with the rising air helps to make the cloud rotate around itself. It is only when everything clicks that you get the recognizable horseshoe shape. – It is very stylish. Even we at the Meteorological Institute are learning something new about the weather. – Incredibly lucky Sebastian Pereira Tymi and Ronny Laukvik feel lucky to have caught the weather phenomenon. – Very cool. We are incredibly lucky to have so much beautiful nature around Bodø, so the fact that you also got to see such a rare cloud is a fantastic bonus, says Tymi.
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Filmed Horseshoe vortex cloud or horseshoe cloud in the sky – news Nordland
