Residents of Vernon, British Columbia witnessed a rare weather phenomena on Sunday, Feb. 22, which looked like a science fiction movie scene.

An elongated cloud formation, known as a "hole punch cloud" or a "fallstreak," appeared above the southern region of the province in the early morning. Residents posted pictures on social media that went viral and had people buzzing with speculation.

The strange phenomena wasn't caused by aliens visiting the planet or movie-making, but rather, Mother Nature, Yahoo! News Canada reports.

A hole punch cloud is created by two atmospheric events that happen simultaneously. Clouds are made of water droplets that in winter form snowflakes and ice crystals which adhere to particles, otherwise known as cloud condensation nuclei. The particles may be flower pollen, dust or airborne debris from factories. Super-cooled water droplets suddenly leave the cloud in the form of localized snowfall and freeze, leaving a hole.

A passing plane reportedly caused the hole punch cloud in British Columbia.

"Researchers previously knew that plane wings, propellers, and turbines could chill super cooled water due to rapid air expansion in their wakes-making things cold enough to force the liquid to become ice," National Geographic explained.

It is possible for the water droplets to spontaneously form ice crystals without particles if temperatures fall to about -40°F (-40°C), according to National Geographic.

Sometimes rainbows can be seen inside hole punch clouds caused by refraction of sunlight by the ice crystals. The formation of crystals can also cause a bright patch of light in the center of the cloud called a "sun dog" and "solar halo."

Residents in Spokane, Washington caught sight of a hole punch cloud on Feb. 18, reports AccuWeather.com.

AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Mark Mancuso said it can take hours for the hole to form after a plane moves through the cloud.

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