An unusual cloud formation, known locally as a ‘Levanter,’ was captured as it appeared to flow off the peak of the Rock of Gibraltar.

Image credit: Met Office Gibraltar

Those landing or taking off at Gibraltar International Airport on the morning of August 24, were treated to a spectacular view of the the British overseas territory’s iconic monolithic peak covered in an amazing cloud that appeared to flow around it. The Gibraltar Met Office captured an amazing time-lapse video of the phenomenon and shared the breathtaking scene on Twitter).

The cloud was a Levanter cloud, so named be the locals after an easterly wind that blows warm wet air across the Strait of Gibraltar. The word “levant” means “to raise” – a reference to the rising sun and the wind coming from

Also called ‘banner clouds’, levanters form when moisture in the wind is driven upwards by the 426 meter (1,398 foot) tall rock. Since the temperature at the top of the rock is cooler, it condenses the moisture in the rising wind, creating the unusual cloud formation. As the wind continues to blow, it pushes the cloud over the peak, leading to the billowing effect.

Levanter clouds, which are shaped by the topography of the land beneath them, can also create contrasting climatic conditions on either side of the Rock of Gibraltar. During summer, these cloud formations can act as a kind of lid that traps hot humid air on the Western side of the mountain for several days, which can aggravate conditions such as asthma and arthritis, according to MeteoGib. They can even affect the animals living on each side because of the rain shadow effect, whereby a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather.

But despite the dangers they might pose, levanter clouds can be extremely spectacular, as this one proves.