The coldest cloud ever measured set a record of -167.8 degrees F was spotted by a satellite over the warm Southwest Pacific near Nauru Island in 2018.
To put this temperature in perspective, it is colder than Earth’s coldest temperature record of -144°F in Antarctica.
Recommended Videos
The severe thunderstorm cloud that formed over the Pacific Ocean was about 86 F colder than average thunderstorms, according to a new study.
Temperatures get colder higher in the sky and some storms tower up to 11 miles often capped by a more stable warmer level of air where the clouds spread out like an anvil.
The coldest part of the storm cloud was measured where updrafts punched through the anvil in an overshooting top.
Improvements in satellite resolution are helping to detect these super cold areas often no larger than 1 mile. While the bone-piercing cold will never reach the ground, it signals stronger storms.
Thunderstorms with colder clouds tend to be more extreme, and more hazardous to people on the ground due to hail, lightning and wind.