Within Cressy
Could a Rain Squall Create the Cressy UFO?
Scud cloud, rain curtains and broken sunlight fit the setting, but they do not neatly account for every structured detail the Brownings described.
On this page
- Weather conditions at the time
- How scud cloud can mimic solid objects
- Reported details the theory struggles to explain
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Introduction
A weather-based explanation is one of the strongest conventional interpretations of the 1960 Cressy sighting. Lionel and Mary Browning observed the reported cigar-shaped object beside a rain squall, beneath low cloud, with changing sunlight near sunset and a rainbow visible in the same part of the sky. Those are precisely the kinds of conditions in which cloud fragments, rain curtains and shifting illumination can create striking but short-lived visual impressions. At the same time, the Brownings described features that are not easily reproduced by ordinary weather alone, including apparent structure, coordinated movement and several smaller objects interacting with the larger one. The result is not a simple debunking. Instead, the weather hypothesis explains some important aspects of the observation while leaving others open to debate.
Could a Rain Squall Create the Cressy UFO?
The sighting took place during unsettled weather over northern Tasmania. Contemporary meteorological summaries describe a trough and frontal system affecting the region, with showers, low cloud, local thunderstorm activity near the Western Tiers and changing light as the sun approached the horizon. The Brownings themselves consistently stated that rain was still falling to the east while the setting sun behind them illuminated parts of the landscape.[Think About It Docs]thinkaboutitdocs.com1960 the cressy cigarThink About It Docs1960: The Cressy CigarJuly 7, 2013…
Those conditions are important because they make judging distance exceptionally difficult. A detached fragment of low cloud, a curtain of rain or an uneven cloud edge can appear surprisingly solid when illuminated from a low angle. Without reliable distance cues, observers may also overestimate or underestimate the size and speed of features suspended against the sky.
The combination of rain ahead and sunlight behind also explains why the witnesses were already looking towards the weather system: they had noticed the rainbow and the dramatic contrast between sunshine and showers before the unusual object attracted their attention. Rainbows themselves require exactly this geometry, with the Sun behind the observer and water droplets ahead.[Met Office]weather.metoffice.gov.ukMet Office Rainbows: optical wondersMet OfficeRainbows: optical wonders - Met Office…
How Scud Cloud Can Mimic Solid Objects
Scud clouds are irregular fragments of low cloud that form beneath larger rain clouds. They often develop rapidly around rain showers and thunderstorm outflows, changing shape from minute to minute.
Several characteristics make scud a plausible ingredient in the Cressy observation:
- Sharp outlines: A detached scud fragment can have a surprisingly well-defined edge, particularly when viewed against brighter sky behind it.
- Elongated forms: Wind shear may stretch cloud fragments into horizontal or cigar-like shapes.
- Changing contrast: Low-angle sunlight can make parts of a cloud appear metallic grey while leaving darker bands where thickness varies.
- Apparent hovering: If a cloud is moving largely towards or away from an observer, its sideways motion may appear very slow even though the surrounding air is moving normally.
- Sudden disappearance: As rain intensity changes or a cloud fragment merges back into surrounding precipitation, an apparently isolated object can vanish quickly.
Rain curtains and virgaprecipitation that evaporates before reaching the groundcan also produce sharply defined vertical textures and moving veils that alter an observer’s perception of shape and distance. These effects are especially noticeable when illuminated by a low evening sun.[The Guardian]theguardian.comThe GuardianWeatherwatch: Virga clouds wispy curtain is an illusion of rain | Environment | The GuardianNovember 25, 2022…
Taken together, these mechanisms provide a physically realistic explanation for why an observer might perceive a structured object emerging briefly from a rain squall before disappearing back into it.
Reported Details the Theory Struggles to Explain
Although the weather explanation fits the setting well, it does not account neatly for every element reported by the Brownings.
The largest difficulty concerns the smaller objects. Lionel Browning described several disc-like forms that appeared near one end of the larger object, while two more reportedly approached rapidly from different directions before the group seemed to reunite and retreat into the rain. He compared their motion to stones skipping across water.[UFOs Scientific Research]ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.comUFOs Scientific Research Unidentified Anomalous PhenomenaUFOs Scientific ResearchUnidentified Anomalous Phenomena - scientific research: The Cressy, Tasmanian sighting - 1960…
A single cloud fragment cannot easily explain this coordinated pattern. One possibility is that changing illumination revealed multiple separate cloud fragments in quick succession, with the human visual system linking them into coherent moving objects. Another is that rapidly shifting gaps within rain curtains created fleeting bright and dark patches that appeared to travel independently. However, neither explanation reproduces the reported behaviour particularly well.
The Brownings also reported apparent structural details on the larger object, including several dark vertical bands and a short projection resembling an aerial. Cloud edges can contain alternating light and dark regions, but producing repeated, apparently organised markings is more difficult than explaining the object’s overall elongated form.
Finally, Browning believed he could see the object against hills beyond the rain, leading him to estimate a relatively nearby distance. If that judgement was correct, an ordinary cloud fragment would become less convincing. If, however, the distance estimate was mistakenas is common in low-contrast weatherthen the apparent size and movement become much easier to reconcile with atmospheric phenomena.
Why Investigators Reached Different Conclusions
The Royal Australian Air Force ultimately recorded an astronomical explanation involving the rising Moon illuminating scud cloud associated with the rain squall, rather than concluding that an unidentified craft had been present. The weather context therefore formed part of the official interpretation from an early stage.[Think About It Docs]thinkaboutitdocs.com1960 the cressy cigarThink About It Docs1960: The Cressy CigarJuly 7, 2013…
Browning disagreed with that specific explanation. He argued that the bright sunset behind him was the dominant light source, that heavy rain obscured much of the eastern horizon, and that the newly rising Moon would have been low and comparatively inconspicuous. His later interview consistently emphasised sunlight rather than moonlight as the illumination responsible for the appearance of the objects.[Think About It Docs]thinkaboutitdocs.com1960 the cressy cigarThink About It Docs1960: The Cressy CigarJuly 7, 2013…
That disagreement highlights an important distinction. Rejecting the Moon as the principal light source does not automatically eliminate a weather explanation. The same meteorological conditionslow scud cloud, rain curtains and dramatic sunset lightingremain capable of producing unusual visual impressions even if the illumination came primarily from the setting Sun.
How Strong Is the Weather Theory?
Among conventional explanations, storm-related cloud remains one of the most plausible because it matches the known environmental conditions at the time of the sighting. It naturally explains why the objects emerged from rain, why they disappeared back into it, why estimating distance was difficult and why the observation occurred during rapidly changing evening light.
Its weakness is that it does not fully reproduce the Brownings’ more detailed descriptions, particularly the apparently coordinated movement of multiple smaller objects and the structured appearance they attributed to the larger form.
For that reason, the weather hypothesis is best viewed as a partial explanation rather than a complete solution. It significantly reduces the need to invoke an extraordinary object by showing how an unstable rain squall could generate misleading visual impressions, but it cannot confidently account for every reported detail. Within Tasmania’s UFO history, the Cressy case therefore remains an example of a sighting where the environmental conditions strongly favour a natural interpretation, even though the surviving witness testimony leaves some aspects unresolved.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: weather.gov
Title: Spotter’s Field Guide
Link:https://www.weather.gov/spotterguide/tor_fake
2.
Source: weather.gov
Link:https://www.weather.gov/iln/skywarn_guide
3.
Source: thinkaboutitdocs.com
Title: 1960 the cressy cigar
Link:https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1960-the-cressy-cigar/
Source snippet
Think About It Docs1960: The Cressy CigarJuly 7, 2013...
Published: July 7, 2013
4.
Source: ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com
Title: UFOs Scientific Research Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
Link:https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-cressy-tasmanian-sighting-1960.html
Source snippet
UFOs Scientific ResearchUnidentified Anomalous Phenomena - scientific research: The Cressy, Tasmanian sighting - 1960...
5.
Source: weather.metoffice.gov.uk
Title: Met Office Rainbows: optical wonders
Link:https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/learn-about/weather/optical-effects/rainbows
Source snippet
Met OfficeRainbows: optical wonders - Met Office...
6.
Source: theguardian.com
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/nov/25/weatherwatch-virga-cloud-wispy-curtain-illusion-rain
Source snippet
The GuardianWeatherwatch: Virga clouds wispy curtain is an illusion of rain | Environment | The GuardianNovember 25, 2022...
Published: November 25, 2022
7.
Source: weather.metoffice.gov.uk
Title: Met Office Unusual cloud formations
Link:https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/clouds/unusual-cloud-formations
Source snippet
Met OfficeUnusual cloud formations - Met Office...
8.
Source: bom.gov.au
Title: Storm Spotters
Link:https://www.bom.gov.au/storm_spotters/handbook/dont_be_deceived.shtml
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Source: bom.gov.au
Title: [Input: Start typ
Link:https://www.bom.gov.au/places/tas/campbell-town/observations/cressy/
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Observations for Cressy - Bureau of MeteorologyMay 26, 2026 OBSERVATIONS FOR CRESSY (BETA) Map View MetEye View the current warnings fo...
Published: May 26, 2026
10.
Source: bom.gov.au
Title: Observations for Cressy
Link:https://www.bom.gov.au/places/tas/prospect-vale/observations/cressy/
11.
Source: bom.gov.au
Title: Observations for Cressy
Link:https://www.bom.gov.au/places/tas/golden-valley/observations/cressy/
12.
Source: media.bom.gov.au
Title: bom.gov.au Clouds: your questions answered
Link:https://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1344/clouds-your-questions-answered/
14.
Source: ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com
Title: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
Link:https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2011/04/peter-e-norris-and-australian_15.html
15.
Source: weather.metoffice.gov.uk
Title: metoffice.gov.uk Optical effects: nature’s light show
Link:https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/learn-about/weather/optical-effects
Additional References
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Source: ufotransparency.com
Link:https://ufotransparency.com/files/intl-au-a703-580-1-1-part2-a703-580-1-1-part-2
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Nacreous Clouds Explained: The Rarest Rainbow Clouds on Earth
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7XRqQroqZI
Source snippet
The Westall Encounter video is directly relevant as it highlights Australian Story's coverage of historic Australian UFO sightings, provi...
18.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Schoolyard witnesses in mass UFO sighting demand answers | Australian Story
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhKyQkhOfoM
Source snippet
What Are Lenticular Clouds? (They Look Like UFOs!)...
19.
Source: abc.net.au
Title: HOW CR
Link:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-20/crepuscular-rays-weather-phenomenon-nt-sunsets-bom/106691518
Source snippet
epuscular rays are creating 'beautiful' sunsets across the Top End - ABC NewsMay 20, 2026 How crepuscular rays are creating 'beautiful'...
Published: May 20, 2026
20.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Clouds That Look Like UFOs? Weird Clouds | Earth Science
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USQabqvO44k
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How Lenticular Clouds Form to Look Like UFOs...
21.
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Link:https://www.project1947.com/kbcat/kbmoreintoz.htm
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Project 1947PROJECT 1947: Keith Basterfield - A CATALOGUE OF THE MORE INTERESTING AUSTRALIAN UAP REPORTS - Updated June 3, 2016...
Published: June 3, 2016
22.
Source: youtube.com
Title: How Lenticular Clouds Form to Look Like UFOs
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s8n03Xlqyw
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Nacreous Clouds Explained: The Rarest Rainbow Clouds on Earth...
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Source: nicap.org
Link:https://www.nicap.org/ufoe/section_9.htm
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Source: forum.hackliberty.org
Title: ufo uap event chronology part 3 1960 up to and including 1969
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Source: ufotransparency.com
Title: intl au a703 580 1 1 part3 a703 580 1 1 part 3
Link:https://ufotransparency.com/files/intl-au-a703-580-1-1-part3-a703-580-1-1-part-3