This picture of a cloud formation that looks like a burning fist intrigued social media users and has gone viral.
The cloud formation appeared across the skies of Madeira, Portugal at 8 in the morning. Weather blogger Rogerio Pacheco captured the photo which shows a cloud formation in the shape of a hand holding a ball of fire. Because of the iconic nature of the image, people started calling it 'The Hand of God'.
On a separate blog, meteorologist Quincy Vagell of weather.com explained the phenomenon.
According to Vagell, the cloud formation was formed due to a phenomenon called 'light scattering'.
"At sunrise and sunset, light from the sun has to pass through a greater distance across earth's atmosphere, where the light is scattered. The result is that vibrant colors, such as reds and oranges, are more dominant." He explained.
Vagell also added that that the turbulent swirls of wind in the low-to-mid levels of the atmosphere caused the clouds to form into a fist-like shape.
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