Around the world, there have been occurrences of highly unusual weather events and extreme weather. These have left scientists and climate experts perplexed as some of the strangest weather events include balls of lightning, milky rain and much more.

2015: The Milky Rain Mystery, USA

The rain left a trail of powdery residue across a 322-km stretch of eastern parts of Oregon and Washington, USA. The chalky residue coating vehicles and windows in at least 15 cities left weather scientists baffled.  The bizarre condition was ultimately traced by scientists to a dry lake bed. Read more.

2019: Orange Snow, Eastern Europe

A rare phenomenon of orange snow stems from the Sahara Desert sand and dust; carried into the atmosphere. It mixes with snow and rain which is then dumped over areas in eastern Europe. In satellite images from NASA, dust was visible as a light brown streak staining the white clouds above Eastern Europe. Read more.

2019: Wildfires in Greenland

Greenland experienced an unprecedented amount of wildfires this year, which contributed to projections that the country’s ice sheet will experience a record melt this year. Wildfires most often occur in the Arctic in July and August, sparked by lightning strikes. In addition, unusually high temperatures and low precipitation in the region almost certainly fuel the July wildfires as well. Read more.

1816: The year that summer didn’t come.

The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer because of severe climate abnormalities that caused average global temperatures to decrease by 0.4–0.7 °C . It led to failed crops and near-famine conditions. In addition to food shortages, the natural climate change caused disease outbreaks and widespread migration of people looking for a better home. Read more.

1918: The Brighton tornado

The Brighton tornado is the strongest storm recorded in Melbourne to date. Over 6 were injured in the Brighton area. At the time, the Southern Cross newspaper reported that the tornadoes caused over £150,000 worth of damage, with houses demolished and multiple trees uprooted. Read more.

1952: The great smog of London

This was a severe air-pollution event that affected the British capital of London in early December 1952. In fact, the smog was so dense that residents in some sections of the city were unable to see their feet as they walked. Consequently due to poor visibility traffic came to a halt, flights were grounded and trains cancelled. Read more.

Lenticular Clouds

These lens-shaped clouds typically form where stable moist air flows over a mountain or a range of mountains. Hence, if there is enough moisture in the air, the rising motion of the wave will cause water vapour to condense, forming the unique appearance of lenticular clouds. Read more.

The Catatumbo lightning

Catatumbo lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon in Venezuela, in which it has the most lightning strikes in the world. It occurs only over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo. Moreover, the lightning originates from a mass of storm clouds at a height of more than 1 km. Interestingly enough, it occurs from 140 to 160 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour. Read more.

Brinicles

The existence of brinicles was only discovered in the 1960s, so there’s still much to learn about them. Brinicles form when heavier-than-water brine freezes the seawater around it. In fact, brinicles can indeed be lethal to some sea creatures (e.g. starfish). who wander into pools of super-cold brine that form beneath them on the ocean floor. Read more.

Sea foam

Sea foam forms when the ocean is agitated by wind and waves and hence, organic matter are churned up by the surf. It can be seen along Australia’s coastal regions. In fact, most sea foam is not harmful to humans and is often an indication of a productive ocean ecosystem. However, there are potential for impacts to human health and the environment. Read more.

Ball lightning

Ball lightning is an unexplained and potentially dangerous atmospheric electrical phenomenon. The term refers to reports of luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Furthermore, ball lightning is caused when leftover ions (electric energy), which are very dense, are swept to the ground following a lightning strike. A team of scientists in China observed the first Ball lightning in a storm-prone region of the Qinghai Plateau in China. Read more.

Rains of frogs and fish

There have been reports of raining frogs and fish dating back to ancient civilization. The most likely explanation for how small frogs get up into the sky in the first place is meteorological: a whirlwind, tornado or another natural phenomenon. Read more.

Overall, did you like our list of the strangest weather events? Don’t forget to comment down below your thoughts.

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Extra reading: 5 sustainable practises that help our oceans and marine life and 10 cool science discoveries of the 21st century.