DID you notice any strange clouds above Oswestry this morning?

Camera club member Thomas James has shared a picture snapped of the skies above the town this morning after spotting a rare cloud type.

Nacreous clouds, also known “mother of Pearl” are rare and very high clouds, known mainly for the coloured light they reflect after sunset and before sunrise.

The colours are reminiscent of the colours which reflect from a thin layer of oil on top of water, an effect known as iridescence.

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.

They are most likely to be viewed when the Sun is between 1º and 6º below the horizon and in places with higher latitudes, such as Scandinavia and northern Canada. For this reason, they are sometimes known as polar stratospheric clouds. Nacreous clouds only form below -78 °C so are most likely to occur during the polar winter.

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 is displaced and hovers temporarily over the UK.