The Morning Glory is a vast tubular cloud that regularly crosses northern Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria at dawn. It can extend for 1,000 kilometres while travelling at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour. The cloud forms inside a moving atmospheric wave created by opposing sea breezes: moisture condenses along its leading edge and evaporates behind it, making the entire cylinder appear to roll across the sky. Near Burketown, glider pilots gather each spring to surf the rising air along its front for hundreds of kilometres.
Morning Glory clouds
