BY MARK PRICE FEBRUARY 05, 2020
The photos were taken about 6 p.m. Jan. 26, by professional photographer Jim Magruder of Linville, who grew up hiking Grandfather Mountain. © JIM MAGRUDER | MAGRUDERPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Dramatic images circulating on Facebook that show something resembling a large UFO over Grandfather Mountain are genuine and highlight a unique weather phenomenon that took place two weeks ago.
Grandfather Mountain shared the photos Jan. 27, generating nearly 1,000 shares and more than 100 comments from people who called them “unreal,” “strange” and unlike anything they’d seen before in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
“Magical and stunning,” LuAnn Wilson wrote on the park’s Facebook page.
Dramatic images circulating on Facebook that show something resembling a large UFO over Grandfather Mountain are genuine and highlight a unique weather phenomenon that took place two weeks ago.
Grandfather Mountain shared the photos Jan. 27, generating nearly 1,000 shares and more than 100 comments from people who called them “unreal,” “strange” and unlike anything they’d seen before in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
“Magical and stunning,” LuAnn Wilson wrote on the park’s Facebook page.
The formation was so vast, one commenter reported seeing it nearly 40 miles south in Marion, N.C.
Officials at Grandfather Mountain say the object is easily explained: It was a lenticular cloud that formed when the mountain was whipped by high winds and covered in rime ice, a white glaze created by frozen fog.
“Such clouds — technically known as ‘altocumulus standing lenticularus’ — form as strong winds blow over and around rough terrain,” the park said in a Facebook post.Duration
The photos were taken about 6 p.m. Jan. 26 by professional photographer Jim Magruder of Linville, who says he grew up hiking Grandfather Mountain.
He said he knew from the start what was taking shape but also recognized the UFO resemblance.
“The sky did remind me of a scene from the ‘Independence Day’ movie when the invading alien space ships appeared over major cities and blotted out the sun,” Magruder told McClatchy News
Magruder says he was standing in MacRae Meadows at the time the cloud formed. It was so big, it took a 10-frame panorama shot to capture it, he said.
“I always keep an eye out for unusual weather and light conditions,” Magruder said, noting .
He said he was doing chores at home that day and “ by 4 p.m. the leading points of the front were already beginning to curl over the north end of the ridge of Grandfather Mountain. ... I figured the combination of a white sparkling mountain top and incoming front might make for a powerful image.”
Other people stood nearby in the meadow, “gaping at the clouds over the mountain ... giddy with the spectacle,” he said.
“We didn’t speak more than perfunctory hellos, but shared a nod of acknowledgment that we were all witnessing something really special,” he added. “The air felt electric.”
By the time it was over, Magruder says he had taken 200 shots from three locations.
The National Weather Service says lenticularis clouds “are associated with waves in the atmosphere that develop when relatively stable, fast moving air is forced up and over” a land barrier.
“This deflection creates a gravity wave downwind of the topographic barrier not unlike a wave you might generate by throwing a pebble into a pond,” the National Weather Service says. “They are most often seen in the winter or spring when winds aloft are typically the strongest.”
Lenticular clouds appear over Grandfather Mountain during the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 26. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such clouds — technically known as "altocumulus standing lenticularus" — form as strong winds blow over and around rough terrain.
Photos by Jim Magruder | Magruder Photography
Officials at Grandfather Mountain say the object is easily explained: It was a lenticular cloud that formed when the mountain was whipped by high winds and covered in rime ice, a white glaze created by frozen fog.
“Such clouds — technically known as ‘altocumulus standing lenticularus’ — form as strong winds blow over and around rough terrain,” the park said in a Facebook post.Duration
The photos were taken about 6 p.m. Jan. 26 by professional photographer Jim Magruder of Linville, who says he grew up hiking Grandfather Mountain.
He said he knew from the start what was taking shape but also recognized the UFO resemblance.
“The sky did remind me of a scene from the ‘Independence Day’ movie when the invading alien space ships appeared over major cities and blotted out the sun,” Magruder told McClatchy News
Magruder says he was standing in MacRae Meadows at the time the cloud formed. It was so big, it took a 10-frame panorama shot to capture it, he said.
“I always keep an eye out for unusual weather and light conditions,” Magruder said, noting .
He said he was doing chores at home that day and “ by 4 p.m. the leading points of the front were already beginning to curl over the north end of the ridge of Grandfather Mountain. ... I figured the combination of a white sparkling mountain top and incoming front might make for a powerful image.”
Other people stood nearby in the meadow, “gaping at the clouds over the mountain ... giddy with the spectacle,” he said.
“We didn’t speak more than perfunctory hellos, but shared a nod of acknowledgment that we were all witnessing something really special,” he added. “The air felt electric.”
By the time it was over, Magruder says he had taken 200 shots from three locations.
The National Weather Service says lenticularis clouds “are associated with waves in the atmosphere that develop when relatively stable, fast moving air is forced up and over” a land barrier.
“This deflection creates a gravity wave downwind of the topographic barrier not unlike a wave you might generate by throwing a pebble into a pond,” the National Weather Service says. “They are most often seen in the winter or spring when winds aloft are typically the strongest.”
Lenticular clouds appear over Grandfather Mountain during the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 26. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such clouds — technically known as "altocumulus standing lenticularus" — form as strong winds blow over and around rough terrain.
Photos by Jim Magruder | Magruder Photography
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