‘Hole punch’ clouds spotted Thursday above parts of Western Washington
Jan 14, 2021, 4:42 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2021, 5:09 am
A hole punch cloud. (NWS Seattle/Twitter)
(NWS Seattle/Twitter)
National Weather Service Seattle shared photos on Twitter of “hole punch” clouds spotted above parts of Washington on Thursday.
In the satellite loop video below, they spotted one such cloud near the coast and another passing across Mason and Kitsap counties. NWS Seattle says these “hole punch” clouds are also known as fallstreaks.
Here's how it might look from the ground: pic.twitter.com/Js68wZq2OG
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 14, 2021
In response to someone’s question about the cause of these peculiar clouds, NWS Seattle says “generally they are caused by aircraft passing through the layer.”
If one were making a cloud chart, this view from our roof would be a prime example of stratocumulus. And the spacing between them is particularly amazing. #wawx pic.twitter.com/qrekAtF4Dj
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 14, 2021
After rain and strong winds Tuesday into Wednesday caused hundreds of thousands of Puget Sound residents to be without power, the weather has quieted down. As of early Wednesday, however, Seattle had received 20% of its normal annual rainfall.
“Through this point of the month, no other January since 1894 comes close in rainfall,” NWS Seattle tweeted. “The closest comparison is January 1990 and it was almost an inch and a half below our current total.”
The Seattle area may not be done with rain yet this week as more wet weather is expected into early Friday.
Not to be the bearer of bad news for some of you, but our recent dry spell is coming to an end this evening. A quick moving front will bring some light rain to the area tonight into early Friday. After it passes, we look to dry out through Saturday! #wawx pic.twitter.com/agVeZ6MfdK
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 14, 2021
