Alien invasion? No, but here’s what made those large cloud holes in the Alabama sky

Alien invasion? No, but here’s what made those large cloud holes in the Alabama sky

Some spectacular-looking holes seen in the sky above Alabama Monday night had some people wondering if, perhaps, they were witnessing the start of an alien invasion.

No – at least not yet.

While interesting looking, the holes are actually nothing to worry about and are fairly common, according to ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann.

Social media users shared somewhat eerie images online Monday showing moon-lit clouds with what appeared to be circles among them. In a post, Spann said the holes are known as “fall streaks” or a “hole punch cloud.”

According to the National Weather Service, these types of clouds are made when an aircraft passes through a cloud made up of supercooled water droplets, meaning they are comprised of water that’s below freezing but still in liquid form. As the aircraft passes through the cloud, it triggers the droplets to turn into ice crystals which then fall, leaving behind a hole that expands outwards as surrounding droplets freeze.

Spann’s post includes a more detailed explanation and you can read that below.

The hole is what we see from the ground. Monday night’s bright full moon made the holes look even more impressive. That doesn’t mean it’s rare and it’s certainly not a sign that something is, indeed, out there.

“This is nothing new… and really not that rare,” Spann wrote.