This week over the Lazy Mountain in Alaska, a large ominous worm-like cloud materialized, which ignited conspiracists to theorize and prompted an investigation from the Alaska State Troopers.
Alaska Skies Darkened by Eerie Worm-Like Cloud
On Thursday, April 7th, at around seven in the morning, photos showed a streak of smoke resembling a falling meteor or burning aircraft loomed over the Alaskan skies above the Lazy Mountain. Social media explanations included tasks of crashing aircraft, unidentified weapons, or an eruption.
Christy Hronkin Swift wrote on the Facebook page of the Plamer Alaska Buzz that they saw the ominous cloud on the way to school that morning.
Another respondent, Cassi Joi, posted that it resembled a meteor and wondered where it may have landed.
Eventually, rumors circulating caught the attention of the Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.
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Conspiracy Debunked: Alaskan State Troopers Release SImple Explanation on Ominous Cloud
On their Facebook page, the Alaska State Troopers released a statement that there were no reports of overdue aircraft or aircraft crashes in the vicinity. Adding that, a team on a helicopter flew a swift mission around the Lazy Mountain and located nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary.
Officials also offered a simple explanation for many citizens' jaw-dropping ominous clouds sighted. The Alaska State Troopers added that upon further investigation, the team found that a large commercial jet was in the area around the time the ominous photos and videos were taken. The aircraft was then contacted and reported normal flight operations on its rote to JFK Airport, New York.
Troopers believed that the eerie worm-like cloud was a contrail from the said commercial jet combined with the rising sun that together caused a unique atmospheric sight. Many tried to poke holes at the state troopers' explanations right away.
However, Eddie Zingone, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Anchorage, explains that it was a very vivid contrail, reports Anchorage Dialy News. He explains that the thickness of the cloud on one side and how its bottom left side is significantly thicker is exactly what is to be expected from a contrail.
What are Contrails, and Why do they Form?
According to the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Contrails are condensation trails left by jet aircraft. They form when hot, humid air from the exhaust of jets mixes with environment air of low temperature and low vapor pressure. The mixing is a result of the turbulence generated by the engine exhaust.
Cloud formation of contrails is similar to the vivid cloud when a person exhales.
If one analyzes a contrail formation and duration, one will notice that these clouds rapidly dissipate horizontally into an extensive thin cirrus layer. Depending on the humidity and winds in the planet's upper troposphere, the contrails can last for a bit of time.
Contrails are a concern in talks of climate studies as increased jet aircraft traffic may result in increases in cloud cover. It has been estimated that in specific heavy air-traffic corridos, cloud coverage has already increased by as much as 20%
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