What caused this cloud

[jamie]

just seen this in the waikato times today. http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/ne ... in-the-sky

Anyone here know what would cause this? looks like a vapour/con trail from a plane but the start is all bunched up like its been doing loops.

im bemused by it

[Manukau heads obs]

it will be a vapour trail alright
the corner will be either a way point (i.e the plane did a turn (the plane is flying away from the observer)
or there is shift in the upper level winds at that point

we say the same thing here 2 evenings in a row last week out to the WNW....with the setting sun making the vapour trail very bright
and the vapour trail only started at a point because thats where there was some high from a low in the Nth tasman ..that high cloud extending but then stopping abruptly against the big high we had

[Razor]

Looks like a flare?

[tgsnoopy]

Looks like a jet vapour trail to me. Would love to see that in native resolution.

[Manukau heads obs]

the give away for it being a vapour trail is the twin lines...i.e 2 engine plane

the twist bit at the start and smudged bit is a bit unusual, but must have been how the winds were affecting the trail at that point
I think the 27th July is about when we saw the very same vapour trail from here.,...now that I think about it
(it was not just last week (but it was still the same thing....high cloud from a starting point)

[Brassnz]

Yup, that's an aircraft.

[Andrew Massie]

Agreed.. Aircraft.. Fireball my *rse!!! Surprised they didn't say it was a UFO!!!!