A strange jellyfish-shaped cloud photographed from space!

This strange cloud phenomenon was photographed by satellite NASANASA And from here NoahNoah In September 2018 in central Mali, Africa. The cloud, which extends more than 300 kilometers in length, is a thunderstorm. It's a huge cumulonimbus, with the head of a jellyfish, but also with tentacles!

The giant jellyfish cloud stretching 300 kilometers over Africa is actually a thunderstorm. © NASA Earth Observatory, Sumy National Polar Orbit Partnership

It is clear that the head is the top of the cloud, which is the anvil, and is surrounded by an arc. Claws are what MeteorologistsMeteorologists Americans call A Flow limits : coming downairair Hail, from the cloud, toward the ground. The descent of cold air creates a storm front, which is a very sudden, violent gust of wind that occurs in front of a storm. Less dense air was pushed skyward around this Flow limitsWhich allowed this cloud arc to form behind him. In the end, all this complex mechanism, NASA explainedResulting in this complete jellyfish shape.

Jellyfish cause sand storms

This very distinctive form of cloud is often seen in very dry areas, such as Africa. It is a continent known to be home to the most violent storms on the planet, along with South America. It is not uncommon for these cloud jellyfish to be responsible for powerful sandstorms: in this case, the cold air that descends lifts sand off the ground and creates giant clumps. WallsWalls From dust.