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Midland, Texas was trending on social media this week and it wasn't because of a bird, a plane, or superman. It was what many like to call a 'Hole punch Cloud'. It's what meteorologists call a fallstreak and they happen pretty frequently all over the world. While many of the photos started to appear online on Tuesday afternoon, the photos above show it formed early in the day was up there most of the afternoon.

The National Weather Service says A fallstreak hole is a large circular hole that can develop within cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds.

What may look like aliens landing is really just supercooled water droplets making contact with an aircraft. The supercooled water droplets in clouds are suspended but not altogether frozen as they remain in the clouds. When a plane flies through the cloud most of the supercooled droplets fall right down to the ground.

 

While Fallstreaks can happen in most places in America, many of the hits from The National Weather Service happen over Minnesota, Wisconsin, over mountain ranges, and potentially anywhere the air is cold enough to affect the cloud formations.

While UFOs are often attributed to fallstreaks, they are simply a result of science and make for some great photos if you are in the right place at the right time.

Got any friends out in the Midland area who may have taken a photo? See if they will share below this article in the comments section on social media. We would love to see more photos.

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