Topic: Weird cloud effect this morning - Sydney

[Richary]

I had a slightly early start this morning, and was coming over the western distributor over Darling Harbour at about 8am. I looked out to the right and saw this weird curved gap in the clouds. Never quite seen anything like it before. Unluckily all I had handy was the phone which takes a 2MB pic with no zoom, the camera was out of immediate reach.

I have taken this photo, cut out the relevant part and done some saturation enhancement to make it more clear on the picture (though it was perfectly clear to the naked eye).

Any ideas what the cause could be? A plane doing a horizontal loop through the clouds or something?

[Michael Bath]

Pretty sure that is caused by a plane passing through that thin cloud layer. Certainly not something you see too often. Your photo also has another straighter plane track bottom left.

[Richary]

Thanks Michael.

It must have been turning pretty sharply for that radius and that was in the direction probably not that far to the east of the airport. So something came in low and banked hard to get into line. Just an interesting phenomenon I hadn't seen before.

[Dave Nelson]

Thanks Michael.

It must have been turning pretty sharply for that radius and that was in the direction probably not that far to the east of the airport. So something came in low and banked hard to get into line. Just an interesting phenomenon I hadn't seen before.

Richary,
                I think you will find it WONT be landing at Sydney !!!

  Sydney is used as a marker waypoint in flights from up north   IE brissy etc  to locations further sth   eg  melb.

   So often I have seen flights from the north do sharp curves over sydney,  which at this time of the year really stand out
with the long con-trails across the clear morning skys   

cheers
Dave N

[Richary]

Hmmm, I don't think the clouds were that high from memory. Also that curve would be going the wrong way for Melbourne to Brisbane, more likely NZ to Brisbane (in which case they took the long way around).

In Melbourne a few times I have seen contrails for planes heading SW. Always wondered where the heck they were going as it wasn't the direction for Tassie.

[Richary]

Another weird cloud effect tonight. This might have been the remains of a thunderstorm from further west, with a big circular cloud, clear centre and the lump in the middle appeared lower (the effect was more obvious before I got the camera set up). With more cloud with no features away to the west. Backlit by the moon behind it, which is probably why the effect varied so much in a couple of minutes as the cloud moved.

[Michael Bath]

Interesting shot Richary - it's like something out of a sci-fi movie