Rare Weather Phenomena from Around the World

N othing comes close to the spectacle of nature. It’s incredible how each snowflake is unique and how they seem to fall dancing from the sky in winter. How spectacular rainbows look and the playful mood they put us even on our most challenging days. But while these weather phenomena are incredible, there are much weirder and more spectacular occurrences that Mother Nature surprises us with. Depending on where you live, you might have even experienced a few of the rarest and strangest weather phenomena.

As a weather enthusiast, you should learn what these rare phenomena are, how they form, and where they are most likely to occur so you can try to encounter them too. In the following, I will talk to you about some of the rarest weather phenomena that are truly spectacular and worth witnessing. Or at least knowing about, because some of them, as you will understand when you’re done reading, aren’t occurrences you would want to encounter because of their dangerous nature. But, alright, now that we have the generalities covered, let’s move on to what interests us – weird weather spectacles that all enthusiasts should know about.

Picture of a Personal Weather Station

Is It Possible to Predict Rare Weather Phenomena?

In all honesty, you can’t actually predict rare weather phenomena. But you can predict the event partially, at least. What I mean is that you can foresee if a severe thunderstorm will hit later that day, for example, but you can’t know for sure if lightning sprites will occur during the event. So there is an extent to which your personal weather station can help you foresee the upcoming weather for the day. So while stats like barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, and other factors that the weather station monitors come in handy for weather prediction, these won’t show the exact nature of the impending event.

Your best tool to stay alert is the weather radio. It picks up and transmits NOAA weather alerts, announcing their nature to help you create a good emergency plan depending on what will happen. But, of course, this applies only to weather phenomena that have the potential to produce property devastation and injure people. It doesn’t apply to phenomena like moonbows and other weather phenomena that we will discuss in the following section of the article.

Fire Tornado in Northern California

Diving into the Topic – The World’s Rarest Weather Phenomena

Now let’s move on to what you came here for – finding out what some of the rarest, strangest weather phenomena one can encounter in their lifetime are. Some are dangerous, even life-threatening, but others are just a sheer display of nature’s beauty in its purest form. Here are the surprising weather events you can encounter:

• #1. Fire tornadoes: It’s a scary thing even to think about. But luckily, at least it’s not an actual tornado per se. A fire tornado, or by its correct name, fire whirl, is a vortex that sucks in combustible materials and gases during a large-scale wildfire. It’s a dangerous phenomenon, and nothing that stands in its way is safe since temperatures inside it can easily pass 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. On average, a fire whirl lasts one hour or more.
• #2. Twin tornadoes: Let’s face it, hearing about a tornado warning over the weather station is bad enough as is. If you hear the word “twin”, you know you’re in double trouble. This is a rare extreme weather event, between two tornadoes of the sort passing as much as 10 to 15 years. It takes a very violent storm supercell to produce two funnels, so you can see why you shouldn’t personally witness this phenomenon. The funnels can be seen together during what is known as the cross-over period when the old tornado dies out and the new one forms. It can even happen when a funnel is so powerful that it creates a secondary, less powerful funnel with its vortices.
• #3. Sprites: I have previously talked about lightning sprites and how they form on this website. Their beauty captured me ever since I was 15, and I witnessed the cold plasma discharge above the thunderclouds back in my hometown. Sprites take place high up in the atmosphere and balance the thundercloud’s positive lightning charges and the ground below. Because of their high position and rarity, lightning sprites are rarely caught on camera.
• #4. Derechos: This is one of the rarest types of severe thunderstorms that can occur. Specific conditions must be met for a thunderstorm to be called a derecho: wind speeds of at least 58 miles per hour for most parts of the event and wind damage for at least 240 miles. Typically, it moves in a straight line and looks apart since shelf clouds seem to be approaching when the derecho is coming your way.

Picture of a Medicane Forming

• #5. Medicanes: They take their name from the fact that these storms formed over the Mediterranean resemble hurricanes. They swirl over the warm water of the sea and can develop an eye. Unlike hurricanes that can produce whopping damage, medicanes are much tamer. But don’t discredit them; their potential for damage and life endangerment is still high, so watch out and stay safe when you see one forming.
• #6. Aurora Borealis: As rare as it may be, it’s a beautiful display of colors that everyone knows about. The spectacular display of lights is seen in high-latitude regions of the planet when solar wind disrupts the magnetosphere. Electrons and protons change their trajectory in the process, then precipitate in the upper part of the atmosphere, losing their energy.
• #7. Nacreous clouds: The name might sound a bit ominous at first, but trust me, if you ever witness nacreous clouds, consider yourself lucky. Aside from their rarity, their sheer beauty makes them among the most beloved displays of rare weather. The filmy sheets slowly curl and uncurl in the semi-dark night sky and seem to stand still. But it is because of their position, right at the coldest part of the lower stratosphere. Although there have been rare instances when nacreous clouds formed in the southern region, even in England, they usually occur in places with higher latitudes during winter.
• #8. Animal rain: It’s a rare occurrence, but one you have probably already heard of. Whether you have heard about instances where it rained fish or frogs, this can happen when the small animals are trapped in waterspouts or updrafts. The animals are then flung to the ground when the storm that picked them up loses energy over dry land. In all honesty, it’s a very unpleasant weather event since it leaves a bit of mess behind while also harming the poor, innocent animals in the process.

Atmospheric River Over Mountains in Canada

• #9. Atmospheric rivers: The last thing we need is a river above our heads, right? Well, it can be a lifesaver in areas affected by wildfire or drought. For the rest, not so much. An atmospheric river occurs when tropical water vapor is pushed by strong winds into a river-like band that rushes ashore. The atmospheric river is perilous because it is accompanied by extreme rainfall and mudslides.
• #10. Moonbows: Sounds dreamy, right? It really is. If you witness this event, you will feel like you’re in a fairytale; I can tell you that much for sure. It’s a scarce phenomenon because a series of conditions have to be perfect to lead to its creation. The moon has to be full and very low in the sky, water droplets must be present in the air and in the opposite direction of the moon, the sky has to be dark, and there should be little light pollution.
• #11. Catatumbo lightning: Although menacing through their nature because of the perils that they come with, thunderstorms can be a thing of beauty when you stay safe and admire the show. But I guarantee that no thunderstorm is more spectacular than the one you can see in Venezuela when you’re in the region of the Catatumbo river. It’s the only place in the world where Catatumbo lightning occurs, the phenomenon taking its name after the river. The spectacular light show with numerous huge lightning bolts happens thanks to the marshes that emit methane gas.
• #12. Noctilucent clouds: The electric-blue color of these clouds makes them a sight you will never forget. These are the highest-forming clouds in the world, stretching more than 50 miles up. You should visit Sweden, Estonia, or Finland to witness this beautiful phenomenon. Because of climate change, we are likely to see this phenomenon more often since methane pollution is much higher.

Beautiful Purple Mammatus Clouds Over Lighthouse

• #13. Mammatus clouds: It’s one of the most breathtaking sights that you can witness in your life. Mammatus clouds form when a large cloud develops round protuberances on its underside. These generally form on cumulonimbus clouds but have also been seen in other types of clouds. For this phenomenon to occur, ice pockets that fall from the cloud and turn into water vapor must cool the surrounding air to create the sunken pockets we see.
• #14. Thundersnow: Yes, this can happen. It’s pretty much a thunderstorm that features snow instead of rain. And yes, it’s as chilling as it sounds. Visibility is highly reduced during thundersnows, usually under 1/4th of a mile. This weather phenomenon is generally witnessed during intense wind blizzards and extreme winter storms. The potential of frostbite when you’re outside is much higher because of the unfavorable weather conditions, and positive polarity lightning with a more significant destructive potential than its negative charge counterpart is likelier to occur. Because of this, I recommend you stay inside no matter what until the thundersnow passes.
• #15. Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds: When you see the formation of clouds that reminds you of rolling oceans, watch out because there is atmospheric instability. These clouds are a nightmare for aircraft pilots because they can cause turbulence. So if you are scared of flying and the last thing you want is a bumpy ride until you reach the soil, if you see this particular cloud formation in the sky, you better change your flight until the weather clears. For the Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud to occur, two adjacent layers of atmospheric air must move at different speeds.

Conclusion

If you have witnessed even one of the weather phenomena I talked about in this article, consider yourself lucky. These are rare sightings that only happen in certain parts of the world or under specific conditions that make them infrequent. Some are dangerous, like the Derechos and thundersnows, while others are harmless displays of breathtaking beauty, like moonbows and the Aurora Borealis.

Our world is beautiful, and nature, even though ruthless at times, mainly spoils us with beautiful sceneries that seem like they’re from another planet. I just hope we can learn to appreciate our planet faster and make the efforts needed to keep it safe because this is our home, and if we don’t treat it right, we might lose it one day.