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Rare cloud formation spotted on Antrim coast

Barra Best
Senior weather presenter
John Fitzsimmons An image of the waters edge at some rocks on the coastline. In the sky is a cone shaped cloud bathed in the soft orange sunlight of the morning sunrise.John Fitzsimmons
Lenticular clouds combined with the morning sunrise on the Antrim coast

People along the Antrim coast woke up to unusual cloud formations on Friday, reminiscent of scenes from a science-fiction film.

Lenticular clouds combined with the morning sunrise to create these striking images, sent in by BBC weather watchers in Larne.

One person described the view as being like a scene from the post-apocalyptic game and television series, Fallout.

Tanya Crooks A cone shaped cloud formation bathed in a purple and red sky, with the town of Larne in the foregroundTanya Crooks
Rab Jones A stone wall, with the view of a town in the distance and a high rise building to the right. The sky has a large cone shaped cloud.Rab Jones
Residents in Larne woke up to the strange formations on Friday
As the sun rose in Larne, the cone shape became clearer

From the Latin word lenticularis meaning "lens-shaped", lenticular clouds are some of the rarest clouds and are often mistaken for UFOs.

They are formed near mountains or hills when the air is both stable and humid.

As air is blown over the mountain or hill it produces a standing-wave pattern, and these clouds form in the crest of the waves.

When illuminated by the rising or setting sun, lenticular clouds take on a unique reddish glow.