Rare nacreous ‘rainbow clouds’ were ‘unlike anything’ West Norfolk residents had seen before

Dozens of people in West Norfolk spotted cloud formations unlike any they had seen before yesterday.

Many took to social media to share their pictures of the rare nacreous clouds which were seen in the skies on Thursday afternoon.

Nicknamed ‘rainbow clouds’, they are seen high in the sky and are known for reflecting bright, coloured light.

Andrew Chapman saw the clouds in Ingoldisthorpe, while Clare Keegan spotted them in Hunstanton and Angela Warner took a few snaps of them in Walpole Cross Keys.

Tristy Thrower said she had spotted the nacreous clouds yesterday, adding: “They were truly spectacular – I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“The colours are reminiscent of the colours which reflect from a thin layer of oil on top of water, an effect known as iridescence,” according to the Met Office.

“Nacreous clouds form in the lower stratosphere over polar regions when the sun is just below the horizon.

“The ice particles that form nacreous clouds are much smaller than those that form more common clouds.

“These smaller particles scatter light in a different way, which is what creates the distinctive luminescent appearance.”

The Met Office added that nacreous clouds only form below -78C and ‘because of the very low temperatures required, nacreous clouds are usually only visible from the UK when the cold air which circulates around polar regions in the stratosphere (known as the stratospheric polar vortex) is displaced and hovers temporarily over the UK’.

They take their name from the old English word Nacre, which means Mother of Pearl.