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Incredible clouds blanket the sky

NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- It was an impressive visual display over the skies of Hampton Roads on Wednesday evening.

NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- It was an impressive visual display over the skies of Hampton Roads on Wednesday evening.

An impressive cloud formation -- highlighted by the setting sun -- had many snapping photos and wondering just what exactly it is they were witnessing up in the air.

PHOTOS: Clouds around Hampton Roads

13News meteorologist Tim Pandajis says the formation known as a shelf cloud, and it came in as part of a cold front that moved in. Shelf cloud formations typically occur along the leading edge of cold air, in absence of thunderstorms.

The timing of the day was perfect, too, allowing the clouds to be illuminated in red and orange hues as they rolled across Hampton Roads.

One picture in particular is catching a lot of people's eyes:

Don't worry, it's not a sign of something ominous; people seeing faces or things out of shapes is a rather common phenomenon called pareidolia.

One other example was from last year, when a satellite image of Hurricane Matthew had many people seeing a grinning skull:

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