What are these odd plumes showing up on Arizona weather radar? They aren’t clouds

A National Weather Service radar clip posted to Twitter shows two brief colorful plumes near Phoenix just after sunset Tuesday, July 12.

But they aren’t rain clouds or dust storms, meteorologists say.

“Do you see the bats?” the Twitter post asks, suggesting the creatures may be heading out in search of bugs to eat.

“Right around the phoenix mountains,” NWS meteorologists wrote in another Twitter post. “Radar captures them leaving their homes.”

Thick clouds of bats, birds, insects and other biological phenomena can show up on weather radar, meteorologist Jamie Kagol told KPNX.

It’s impossible to tell what they are by radar alone, but feeding habits and migration patterns can help narrow it down, Kagol told the station.

This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 12:54 PM with the headline "What are these odd plumes showing up on Arizona weather radar? They aren’t clouds."