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What are these hexagonal clouds found over the Bermuda Triangle?

Ashley May, USA TODAY

No, these clouds don't solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. But they are cool.

Satellite weather images showing honeycomb cloud patterns, like those above the Bermuda Triangle, are strange to see, but not uncommon. These open and closed cells occur when cold, dry air mixes over warm water. 

The patterns are usually spotted over the mid-North Atlantic and the North Pacific during late fall to early spring. A Science Channel report linking the weather phenomenon to the Bermuda Triangle speculates the cloud patterns, which can create updrafts and downdrafts, could be responsible for unusual activity there.

What Can Hexagonal Clouds Tell Us About the Bermuda Triangle?

Steven Miller, who appeared on the Science Channel report, said this weather pattern can't be blamed for Bermuda Triangle disappearances, because it happens everywhere. 

"It is a common phenomenon occurring globally — most generally found at mid- to high latitude locations over the oceans, and usually during the cold season," the scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere of Colorado State University said. 

Randy Cerveny, who also appeared in the report, said he was surprised with the piece because he hasn't done any original work on this topic and was speculating the weather pattern might be explained by concentrated downbursts of air from decaying thunderstorms. 

"They made it appear as if I was making a big breakthrough or something," Cerveny, a professor of geographical sciences at Arizona State University, said. "Sadly [that's] not the case."

Over the years, there have been many theories about what causes ships to disappear in the Triangle, including gas bubbles.

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