Check this out! It’s a lenticular cloud. We explain what it means.

BURLEY — On occasion, readers send EastIdahoNews.com pictures about strange meteorological phenomena — this week, our reporters were shown a picture of a cloud that looked like a flying saucer or stack of pancakes.

But what is it really?

The picture was taken in the Heyburn/Burley area over the Albion Mountains and Pomerelle Mountain Resort on Thursday just after 5 p.m. by Kurt Wilcox.

It shows what’s called a “lenticular cloud.”

“You can see the layers of humidity. On that image, there looks like there are four distinct layers, and that shows you how different layers in the atmosphere move around at different speeds,” said Jack Messick, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pocatello.

A lenticular cloud, also known as a cap cloud, forms over mountain peaks when moisture begins to increase in the upper levels of the atmosphere. A KING 5 article in Seattle goes more in depth on what a lenticular cloud is.

“You have to have enough moisture. That’s why you won’t see these in the summer because it’s just too dry,” Messick said. “I guess the best way to see them in Idaho would be northwest winds coming off the central Idaho mountains, then you would get a lenticular cloud like this.”

Interestingly, many people will see this type of cloud and come to their own conclusions.

“A lot of people have claimed this is what people see when they think they see a UFO as you look at it from the ground,” Messick said.

He added that airline pilots will see these clouds and tend to stay away.

“Just know that airline pilots see these clouds as evidence of strong turbulence, so they will likely attempt to steer away from those so they don’t encounter something severe,” he told EastIdahoNews.com.

Click here to learn more about lenticular clouds.