In videos and images posted to social media, residents in the two Middle-Eastern countries were mystified by the appearance of a bizarre circular patch in the sky, almost as if someone had “punched a hole into the sky.”
First reported by Geek.com, the phenomenon turned out to a fallstreak hole or a hole punch cloud, as identified by meteorologist Ebrahim Al Jarwan. A fallstreak hole is a “a large circular or elliptical gap that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds.”
The phenomenon consists of tiny water droplets that are much colder than freezing, but haven’t frozen. According to the US National Weather Service, “these “supercooled” water droplets need a “reason” to freeze, which usually comes in the form of ice crystals. Planes passing through the cloud layer can bring these ice crystals.”
