Hole Punch Over A Coruña, Spain

May 29, 2019

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Photographer: Tareixa M. Buxan 
Summary Authors: Tareixa M. Buxan; Jim Foster

Featured above is what appears to be a cavum or hole punch observed above A Coruña, Spain. In general, this meteorological phenomenon also called a sky punch, results when an aircraft passes through an altocumulus or stratocumulus cloud deck during takeoff or landing. The opening in the cloud deck here is particularly large, and since no obvious fallstreak is visible, it may be simply a curious break in the clouds rather than a hole punch. However, because small clouds are positioned near the center of the cloud gap, where fallstreaks would be expected to be observed, this, could very well be a hole punch phenomenon. Photo taken on May 20, 2019.