We get all kinds of photos sent to us throughout the year, showcasing all sorts of cool and quirky weather phenomena – but sometimes we have to admit when we’re stumped!

WeatherWatch.co.nz reader Anna Powell sent in the following images to us, from Gisborne in the North Island:

So we talked to friend of WeatherWatch.co.nz Brandon Miller from CNN America, who had this to say:

“These are similar to the more familiar “crepuscular rays”, but they are opposite the sun in the sky…and since you cannot see the sun in this picture (it is likely above or behind the camera), these would be anticrepuscular (crepuscular radiate directly from the sun, which is often obscured by a cloud, revealing only the rays).”

“What you are seeing is the sunlight and shadows from the clouds, likely the clouds which are visible in the photo, streaming by.

“The light rays are actually parallel to each other, but they appear to converge on the horizon (the same optical illusion that makes parallel train tracks appear to converge on the horizon).”

Well you learn something new every day!

You can read more about this amazing phenomenon here!

– Images / Anna Powell 

– WeatherWatch.co.nz