What would cause a cloud to do this?

When I am my usual logical self I would say that since clouds are affected by wind currents your cloud formation was probably created by a stray burst of wind which caught the tail end of the cloud.

But at the same time I love the paranormal and think there probably are some interesting paranormal explanation. For example, some people believe that if they stare or concentrate on a cloud they can make it change its shape. Since many clouds' shapes are quickly dissipated (like yours) this is hard to prove, but perhaps someone was trying this experiment and managed to create the formation which you saw.

A woman recently made the news when she claimed she had photographed a previously undescribed cloud formation. She said it looked "apocalyptic". I looked, said "cumulus" which happened to be what the scientists called it too. Note that she was quite emotional about it because when we look up at the sky we may be filled with awe, wonder, or fear. Once I looked up as I was about to enter my car and drive home on a rainy day and was filled with fear because the sky was a sickly green which I had never seen. I managed to reach home before a tornado touched down far from where I lived.

I can't stop without describing the time I looked out of the bathroom window at a blue sky with a white cloud floating by which suddenly starting doing something amazing: The tail end thinned out and began hanging off the cloud while forming a nearly vertical spiral. A helix I thought in joy but was afraid it would be gone if went for my camera. It did dissipate quickly. Friends tell me I received a gift from the universe. Perhaps I did.

My mind leans to the paranormal. There are a lot of people who believe that space crafts cloak themselves in clouds.

I am trying to find a logical explanation, but the only thing that I could come up with was a strong gust of wind but I have never experienced anything like you are describing and I have lived in places where tornadoes and hurricanes were prominent...

It would be great if you re-asked this question in the paranormal section. It is under Science - Alternative - Paranormal

*edit*

There are a lot of scientists that frequent that section, giving logical answers to the strange and bizarre. ;) If there is a logical explanation, you would find it there.

I just had an idea though, maybe it was a stealth bomber and it was cloaked so you couldn't see it. :)

A few years back there were lots of online reports of "chem trails." These were trails being left by jets that were not the ordinary ice-crystal, high altitude contrails that vanish behind a jet. Chem trails remained in the sky for hours, and sometimes the jets that left them were leaving cross-hatch patterns like "X marks the spot."

However, since you don't mention seeing a jet streaking behind the cloud, I guess this remains a mystery.

are you sure it isnt smoke? its rained heaps in melbourne these past two days, i was drenched this arvo. i just thought i would tell you because it was a coincidence :D

IT WOULD BE good to get the answer your searching for, but i am

having the same trouble on here, each time i ask a question of substance it is like i am talking to a classroom of year 9 children ??

Whats going on .... where have all the adults gone ? I think they are

busy working trying to pave way for this recession.

Anyway good luck with that.

I'm going the Smile's broke wind - loved it. If you catch it again throw us a picture -sounds kinda cool.

Invisible spacecraft?

Weird. You said it slowly vanished. How slowly?

Maybe it was a plane you couldn't see.

Maybe it broke wind?