Giant roll clouds reported from Texas to Oklahoma

3

Weird weather phenomena are currently increasing in the US skies.

Look at these giant roll clouds tumbling across the sky from Texas to Oklahoma on January 16 and 17, 2016.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud near Houston, Texas on January 16, 2016. Brittney Garneau via Mark Terallo

After the cross in the sky in Michigan and the full circle rainbow in North Carolina, these rare and beautiful roll clouds were spotted sweeping throught the sky of Texas to Oklahoma on January 16 and 17, 2016.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud in Cypress, Texas on January 16, 2016. Karen Cash via Mark Torello

Roll clouds are just one of the weird weather phenomenon that can happen when winds go wild.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud in College Station, Texas on January 16, 2016. Glenda Acevedo-Graham via Johnatan Erdman

Here a video showing the rare cloud formation over Norman, Oklahoma:

Roll clouds are a type of arcus cloud, which is a category of low cloud formations.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud in Oklahoma on January 17, 2016. Brandon Whiteside via Shelby Hays

These tubular clouds sometimes form along with storms born out of the storm’s downdraft.

This roll cloud was filmed over Houston, Texas, on January 16, 2016:

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS! Not your normal everyday clouds in Spring, TX. (Video courtesy of Scott Engle). Send your weather photos to news@abc13.com or hashtag #abc13eyewitness #abc13

Posted by ABC 13 Houston on Saturday, January 16, 2016

Sinking cold air causes warm, moist air on the planet’s surface to climb to higher altitudes, where the moisture condenses into cloud form.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud in Norman Oklahoma on January 17, 2016. Paxton Storm Chasing

Winds from the storm “roll” the cloud parallel to the horizon, creating an effect that looks much like a horizontal tornado.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud in Norman Oklahoma on January 17, 2016. Paxton Storm Chasing

And that video shows them in College Station, TX on January 16, 2016:

Video of Clouds in College Station, TX 1/16/2016.

Posted by Glenda Acevedo-Graham on Sunday, January 17, 2016

Rolls clouds are completely detached from the bulk of the storm. Therefore they aren’t dangerous in themselves.

roll cloud texas oklahoma, roll cloud texas, houston roll cloud, roll cloud houston texas, roll cloud norman oklahoma, oklahoma roll cloud, norman roll cloud
Roll cloud in Norman Oklahoma on January 17, 2016. Paxton Storm Chasing

Also stunning are lenticular clouds which also form because of the vagaries of winds around mountain peaks.

Follow us: Facebook and Twitter

3 Comments

Leave a reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.