– This point of view was completely extreme. I worked as a commercial pilot for 38 years and have seen such clouds hundreds of times, but never with such defined colors. It’s incredibly rare, explains Rune Jensen to TV 2.
The experienced driver was sitting in the car on the way from Geilo to Bergen on Monday afternoon when he discovered the spectacular sky.
– I just had to stop the car. About five minutes later, the colors were a little blurrier, Jensen says.
Fortunately, he was able to take many pictures of the weather phenomenon first.
Requires the right weather conditions
This isn’t the first time Jensen has seen nacre clouds, but it’s the first time with such strong colors and on this scale.
– Whenever you fly in strong winds, you can see traces of pearly clouds, but I’ve never experienced anything like what I saw today, says Jensen.
The on-duty meteorologist at Storm Geo says there are several things that need to be in place to be able to spot such clouds.
– It’s not super unusual, but you have to have the right kind of weather and conditions in the mood, Ina Ynnesdal tells TV 2.
– Clouds are very dramatic and people are often bothered by them. It’s like rainbows in the clouds, something you pay close attention to, she says.
Here you can see pearly clouds
Not every country can boast of being able to see pearly clouds. The countries of the Nordic countries, Alaska, parts of Canada and regions of the northern hemisphere have the opportunity to see it, explains the meteorologist.
– You have to be lucky and be in the right place at the right time. It must be cold and there must be thin clouds in the atmosphere, at the same time the sun must have gone down below the horizon, so that it illuminates the clouds.
Such a phenomenon often occurs in winter, but the colors may still vary somewhat.
– We live on the right side of the globe to be able to see such a phenomenon, says Ynnesdal.