Panama City, FL

Did you see them? Those odd looking clouds on Thursday? Well, those were "Hole Punch" clouds. Although odd in appearance, these cloud formations are actually becoming quite common. The main reason? Mainly more jet activity in our sky.

So, just what is a “hole punch cloud”? Essentially it is a cloud formation that is changed in structure as a jet or plane flies through it. The jets “agitate” supercooled droplets as they pass through that cloud deck. Those supercooled water droplets then re-freeze as ice particles as they pass over a jets’ wings. The end result is either a complete hole in the middle of the cloud deck or that streaky appearance in the middle of a cloud hole. Those streaks are the actual frozen ice particles you are seeing.

The first time I ever witnessed a hole punch cloud was in 2003 in Mobile, AL. I was not alone! Many people reported that weird cloud in the sky that day, and I took a LOT of phone calls from curious viewers.

I have a suspicion that the hole punch clouds Thursday were created from fighter jets from Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL.