Unusual 'Hole Punch' Cloud Seen Over Massachusetts

ROCKPORT (CBS) -- North Shore residents spotted an unfamiliar sight in the sky on Saturday.

Photos of a "hole" amid the cloud cover began flooding social media.

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WBZ viewers from Peabody, Rockport and Gloucester sent in pictures, wondering what was behind the phenomenon.

As WBZ AccuWeather meteorologist Barry Burbank explained, these rare "hole punch" clouds are apparently caused by aircraft passing through the clouds.

"Flying through this layer of clouds can produce a formation of ice crystals very quickly," Burbank said. "They start to come out of the cloud and produce what you see here, this void in the cloud."

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