Extremely rare wave-shaped cloud formation captured on camera

By Adam Dutton via SWNS

An extremely rare wave-shaped cloud formation has been captured over the skies of England.

The phenomenon, known as a Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud, was spotted hovering above the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland.

Kelvin-Helmholtz is one of the rarest cloud types, occurring when two different layers of air are moving at different speeds.

Ian Davison, 56, snapped the stunning scene on his iPhone while hiking with his daughter and her boyfriend on Saturday, Dec. 12.

The project manager, from Ashington, Northumberland, said: “For over 40 years I've gone up the hills, and never seen anything like this.

“I’d made it up a hill and as I turned around I went ‘blinking heck look at that’. I didn’t know what it was at the time but it looked like the peaks of waves crashing over the Cheviots.

“We had to Google it to find out what it was.

“It literally came and went within minutes, it was less than five minutes and it had left and gone.

“I think it’s quite rare. It was a really special moment.

“Photography is kind of a hobby but I just point and press. If you’re in the hills there’s good views everywhere.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.”

The distinctive formation gets its name from scientists Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz who studied the physics behind the rare cloud.

The phenomenon is caused when two slower air streams are split by a faster stream, causing winds to blow faster at the upper level.

The sudden burst of pressure moves water vapour and creates a wave-like effect that which can make amazing shapes in the sky.