Rare cloud formations ripple the sky over Ottawa
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
The clouds, known as asperitas clouds, are known for their distinctive formation that look like rippling waves.
"It looked biblical," Jody Harrison said. "We were just enjoying the rolling of them all from the west, just coming right at our place. So it was really cool."
The cloud formation was proposed and identified by the Cloud Appreciation Society in 2008.
Rare cloud formations in Ottawa's west end on Sunday. (Matt Skube/CTV News Ottawa)
The World Meteorological Organization added the asperitas clouds to its International Cloud Atlas in 2015. It is the latest cloud type to be added to its atlas and the first in more than 50 years.
Its name comes from the Latin word for "roughness."
"The thing about these clouds is, I mean, they're beautiful to look at, but they're scientifically really compelling as well, because we don't really understand why they form," Dan Riskin, CTV Science and Technology specialist, told CTV News Ottawa on Monday.
"I mean, they're kind of associated with bad weather, but they don't actually cause rain to come out. They tend to show up before a storm or after the storm, but not always. And they have this undulation to them. So they make for beautiful images."
Its not exactly known how the clouds are formed, but it is theorized they are most likely created when pockets of sinking, cooler air interact with winds that are changing direction from the cloud top to the cloud base.
The result produces the wave-like appearance.
A unique form of clouds, known as Asperitas clouds, over Carp on Sunday. (Iain Murphy/submitted)
Riskin says asperitas clouds happen "pretty frequently all over the place."
"It's the most recent cloud to be given a name, and we're still waiting for official word about why meteorologists believe these things form. It just really hasn't been articulated yet," Riskin said. "So, it's great that people took videos. It's great that people took pictures because those are data that will then be used to help inform those opinions."
Asperitas clouds were visible across eastern Ontario on Sunday, including in Embrun. (Lisa Gamelin/submitted)Rare Asperitas clouds were visible in Ottawa and parts of eastern Ontario on Sunday. (Stefanie Witt/submitted)
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Dave Charbonneau and CTV News Atlantic
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Who should lead the Liberals? 'None of the above,' poll finds
As questions loom over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership, a new Nanos Research poll commissioned for CTV News says a quarter of Canadians say none of the potential candidates appeal to them.
Canada's response to Trump deportation plan a key focus of revived cabinet committee
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's promise to launch a mass deportation of millions of undocumented people has the Canadian government looking at its own border.
New technology solves mystery of late First World War soldier's flower sent home to Canada
In 1916, Harold Wrong plucked a flower from the fields of Somme, France and tucked it into a letter he mailed home to Toronto. For decades, the type of flower sent remained a mystery.
U.S. election maps: How did 2024 compare to 2020 and 2016?
Though two states have yet to be officially called, the U.S. election map has mostly been settled. How does it compare with the previous two elections?
Canada rent report: What landlords are asking tenants to pay
Average asking rents declined nationally on a year-over-year basis for the first time in more than three years in October, said a report out Thursday.
N.S. school 'deeply sorry' for asking service members not to wear uniforms at Remembrance Day ceremony
An elementary school in the Halifax area has backed away from a request that service members not wear uniforms to the school's Remembrance Day ceremony.
Remembrance Day: What's open and closed in Canada?
While banks and post offices will be closed nationwide on Remembrance Day, shops and businesses could be open depending on where you live in Canada.
BREAKING Judicial recount for Surrey-Guildford confirms B.C. NDP's majority
The B.C. New Democrats have a majority government of 47 seats after a judicial recount in the riding of Surrey-Guildford gave the party's candidate 22 more votes than the provincial Conservatives.
48,584 space heaters recalled in Canada after burn injury in U.S.
Health Canada has announced a recall for electric space heaters over potential fire and burn risks, a notice published Thursday reads.