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...SPACESHIP-LIKE CLOUDS RARE NATURAL PHENOMENON

KEEN-EYED North Walians have spotted something bizarre happening to clouds around Gwynedd. Thankfully, it’s got an easier explanation than alien life preparing to land on Earth.

Resident Damien Hughes saw what looked like a mini tornado taking shape above Llanberis.

Meanwhile, over Dinorwic Quarry, Leo Lord had a better view of the true scale of the clouds.

The unusual sight is in fact a phenomenon around the world that is rare across British skies. However, they can be fully explained by science.

Met Office experts say that these lens-shaped clouds are known as lenticular clouds.

They form when the air is stable and winds blow across hills and mountains from the same or similar direction at different heights through the troposphere.

They are quite unusual in the British Isles but do occasionally occur.

They look a lot like the traditional shape of flying saucers in science fiction, and real lenticular clouds are believed to be one of the most common explanations for UFO sightings across the world.

They are avoided by aeroplanes because they create inflight turbulence.

Skilled (and brave) glider pilots, on the other hand, like them, because they can tell from the shape of the clouds where the air will be rising.